


ARC-950701 [under construction]

by n_kei



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Anarchy, Denial of Feelings, Drama, F/F, F/M, Internal Conflict, M/M, Other, Philosophy, Romance, Science Fiction, Slow Build, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-04-27 03:37:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14416851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n_kei/pseuds/n_kei
Summary: Jaehyun discovers his definition of love extends beyond the beating heart when he stumbles upon an android tucked to the side of a dumpster.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is not an original idea. The concept of androids and humans existing in the same world has been around for decades. Iconic works such as Ghost in a Shell, Blade Runner, Chobits and even more ambiguous movies like Gattaca have explored the idea of what it means to be human, what makes us uniquely different, and where and how lines blur once we become androids. With that said, you will see strong parallels drawn between this story and all of the movies mentioned above, but the plot will play out differently.

Jaehyun wipes the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, cursing at the broken air conditioner for the umpteenth time that day.

The heat from the sun is relentless, and the humidity level is so stifling it renders life on earth- particularly this day in the city of Incheon- a considerable bit more challenging to get through. Summer is just about to start, but the temperature is already 29 degrees, rising to a dangerous 42 with humidity in the dead of afternoon. The back of his shirt is sticking to his body, and he frustratedly peels it back in hopes that it'll stay that way for a bit longer. He's always had active sweat glands, and this heat just makes it worse.

The cafe is empty.

It's the weekend, so most people are indoors. But when the AC breaks, like the current situation, business is crawling at snail pace- and has he mentioned how unbearably hot it is?

He leans against the counter and watches his coworker- a taller man with large almond eyes, strong nose, full lips and auburn hair swept backwards with all of the sweat collected there- wipe the machinery for the seventh time. They'd only had two customers today. He sighs and rests on his arms.

“Find something to do.” Johnny comments calmly.

“I've already done everything.” Jaehyun replies with a hint of impatience.

“There's always something to do. Count the beans in that.” He gestures to the 5kg bag of beans sitting by the counter without looking up.

Jaehyun wrinkles his nose. “How’s that productive? I'd rather wipe the tables again.”

“Then do that,” Johnny says noncommittally. “Hey, think Kibum will be back soon?”

He rinses out the towel- this might be the twelfth time- Jaehyun gave up counting at ten.

“He usually doesn't show until closing, but the AC is broken…” Jaehyun checks the watch on his wrist, a simple thin black band projecting holographic digits above it. “I can give him a call if you want.”

Johnny shakes his head. “Nah it’s fine. I doubt he’d mind it anyway. I just want to get a head start on my paper.” He shuffles to the back room and comes out with his black backpack. After a bit of digging around, he pulls out a doll and places him on the table. Jaehyun tries not to stare.

The doll is no more than 8 inches tall, a mini Articulated Robot Controller (or ARC for short). As the name suggests, it’s a robot designed to execute orders flawlessly, a computer for the future. The “controller” is, by process of elimination, the owner of the ARC.

Johnny affectionately calls his mini-ARC “Taeil”, it's a gift from his parents. Johnny’s family is by no means rich, but when Johnny announces that he’ll be moving back to their hometown of Seoul for schooling, his parents had given him Taeil so the mini-ARC can keep an eye on him.

Mini-ARCs like Taeil are becoming more common, much like the cell phones of the early-to-mid 21st century.

At some point in time, tech giants began to combine their computers with virtual assistants technology and years upon years of collected information to create the first ever ARC. They started out big and cumbersome, with slow processing speed and small memory chips. But as technology developed throughout the decades, some ARCs have become small enough to fit into a student’s backpack while others are the size of a normal human, receiving and transmitting information from your local bank all the way to International Space Stations.

ARCs are most commonly seen working nowadays, particularly in jobs that do not technically require the human brain to 'think outside the box,' so to speak. The automation of jobs have created an influx of people without one, therefore competition for employment has increased dramatically and aggressively. It means that newly-graduated students have the worst luck looking for work in their field of study, which is partially why Jaehyun part-times at a vintage-style cafe with another university student, Johnny.

Back to ARC's.

There’s a running joke that the first ARC was created to satisfy a scientist’s robotic sex fetish, but in reality, their existence becomes more justifiable when applied to environments like hospitals and nursing homes, where any kind words and thoughtful gestures go a long way. Their facial emotions are programmed to be pleasant and professional, their voices warm with patience and understanding. Even their eyes, the supposed gates to the human soul, react to light the way humans' do. The only visible signs that give them away are the six tell-tale holes in the back of their necks. Two columns, three rows.

All technological booms start the same way. First, it's a fad. Then it evolves into a utilitarian tool, reimagined and reinvented and redesigned, finessed to an art. Finally, it becomes an affordable, widespread phenomenon where everyone and their mothers (and their grandmothers) have it.

An ARC is no different. But it's still in its early stages of development, and thus, less cost effective than the late 21st century super laptops. Jaehyun thinks back to the laptop at home who talks back at him, and whirrs and groans whenever he assigns it a task. It’s not very helpful.

Which is why Jaehyun watches, with poorly-concealed interest and jealousy, as Johnny snaps his fingers in front of Taeil, waking the ARC up. It greets the two with a friendly smile.

“Hey Johnny, Jaehyun. How are you today?” He asks, voice pleasant and melodic.

“Just peachy.” Johnny smiles and hands Taeil a thin sheet of Optix glass. “Can you draw up the report from last night?”

Taeil takes the glass while looking at his surroundings and frowns. “Aren’t you at work?”

Johnny snorts and waves a hand dismissively. “We’ve had two patrons the entire day. It’s the last hour, I just want to get some work done. Kibum won’t mind.”

Taeil looks at Jaehyun for confirmation, who shrugs in return.

To be very honest, Jaehyun’s still not used to how human-like ARCs can be. It’s programmed to their core, but it doesn’t make the entirety any less… weird, somehow. Or maybe Jaehyun needs to get over this uncanny valley, because he’s decades too late to complain about it anyway.

Taeil nods eventually and pushes the glass against a bag of coffee beans, then Johnny gently detaches two thin blue optic cords from the back of his neck to snap into the glass, and Taeil’s eyes glow white. The glass loads up the information as the metal bar at the base of the glass projects a keyboard in front of the glass.

Johnny pulls a tall stool from the other side of the bar, cracks his knuckles, and begins to type.

This isn’t the first time Jaehyun’s seen Johnny do this, but it still fascinates him every time.

“Not that I mind, but are you going to keep staring?” Johnny’s question snaps Jaehyun out of his reverie.

He chuckles sheepishly and scratches the back of his head. “Sorry. It’s just, really interesting, is all.”

“Still saving up to buy one?” Asks a gentle voice.

Jaehyun turns to Taeil and nods. “The lowest tier cost at least two month’s rent. I just can’t afford it right now.”

Taeil makes a noise of sympathy, and quiets for a moment like contemplating something. Suddenly, he perks up. “Would you like me to find the latest deals? There are always some that are a year or two old, but still in great condition.”

Jaehyun smiles and shakes his head. “I have around 1,200 credits in my bank, most of which will go into my rent by the end of this month. I’ll look into it when I have enough to start saving.”

Taeil makes another sound like he wants to say something, but thinks better of it, and pulls back into the resting position. Jaehyun raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t press further.

With nothing else better to do, he meanders by the storefront, watching the lights blink on down the street, and walks to the back of the counter and pours himself half a glass of Japanese cold brew.

“Want some?” He asks the taller man.

After a long pause, Johnny spares a glance at Jaehyun's direction, then back to his assignment and says distractedly, “Sure, same amount. Thanks.”

Jaehyun nods, and settles a tall glass, half full, in front of Johnny, who mutters a quiet thanks and takes a quick sip. The side of the glass quickly pearls with condensation. Johnny sighs and stretches upwards, then goes back to proof reading what he wrote.

It’s a long day, but at least it’s ending soon.

Jaehyun leans his weight against the table and watches the outside with faint interest. The sun is almost set, painting the sky with coral, violet, and cobalt hues.

As time passes, the pinks of the sky disappear slowly, mixing the palette and greying the sky. His eyes fall half-lidded and as he stares into the horizon, lined with skyscrapers and the occasional satellite scraping along the clouds.

The door chimes, and Kibum pokes his head around the corner.

“Hey boss.” Johnny calls from the back, quickly putting Taeil and the glass away.

“Hey, Kibum.” Jaehyun echoes with a quirk of a smile.

“It's Key. Stop making me repeat myself.” Kibum- Key, automatically corrects them as he steps through while fanning his hand dramatically against his neck. “I feel like I operated on unethical standards. How are you guys doing?”

Johnny snorts in the back, but Jaehyun straightens and follows Key to the back. “It was hot. Only two patrons came through.” Jaehyun recites. Key hums half-heartedly while observing his antique coffee machine, then at the desserts freezer by the cashier.

“That’s to be expected.” He says, rounding to the back to give the thermostat a quick glance-over. It’s not like he knows what he’s doing though. “Still not working, huh? At least the dessert fridge didn't break.”

He explains that this product has stopped production for almost half a century already as he turns the dial this way and that, and then throws his arms up altogether. “Good news is, I found a mechanic that knows a fair bit of late 21st century heating and cooling systems, so I’m hoping to be back in business next week. Sorry for calling you guys in for work today.” Not that he sounds particularly sorry (his personality is straightforward that way) but he does seem more apologetic than usual.

Jaehyun shrugs and Johnny replies with a brief, “No worries, boss!” from behind the counter.

Key shoots Johnny’s tall back with a pointed look, then shakes his head and mutter something about dumb, skillful baristas under his breath. Jaehyun bites back a smile.

“Alright, go home. I can close up.” He waves them off with his hands.

Both Jaehyun and Johnny make a beeline to the back room to change and appear a moment later. “I’ll call for you to come in when the cooling system is fixed,” he continues, attention diverted to the band on his wrist.

“Alright. See you, boss!” Johnny calls over his shoulder.

“It’s Key!” Comes the annoyed response. Jaehyun bites back a chuckle.

“What a way to flirt,” Jaehyun teases as they step down the stairs, pushing past the white gates and into the hilly path.

The corners of Johnny’s lips quirk up. “He’s cute, but not my type,” he comments.

Jaehyun raises a brow in mock surprise. “You have a type?”

“Yeah, the type that isn’t taken. Don’t you know anything about Key? He’s been married to his android for almost five years now.” Johnny pauses at the crossroads. “Are you going home?”

Jaehyun stills, then shakes his head. “I'm going to the library. I wasn’t aware that that was legal in Korea.”

“They went to Paris.” Johnny smiles and checks the time on his band, then taps it again. “My bus is coming in five. I’ll see you later?”

Jaehyun nods. “Yeah. See you.”

They split ways, and Jaehyun heads to the opposite direction for the library. He has a research paper about the effectiveness of past incarceration systems due in two weeks that he should probably get started on.

It may come as a surprise, but Jaehyun is planning to enter the force one day. A detective, to be exact. He’s in his third year of four at the National Police Academy, the most prestigious policing university in Korea, and to say that it’s been a challenge is an understatement. While he passes the physicals with flying colours, he’s weaker with technology-related studies. But his discipline, intelligence and strong observational skills and understanding of human psychology has earned praises from professors. Praises, awards, and letters of recommendations for scholarships. It's why the cost of his education is completely covered.

But the cost of living in the city of Seoul is a different matter altogether.

Transportation- magnetic trains, hover cars and bikes- continues to be dependable and affordable, food is still dirt cheap and delicious, but the rent… it makes his wallet bleed. The closer to city centre, the more expensive it gets. So he lives in the outskirts of Incheon and commutes about an hour each way to and from the Academy.

As for the cafe, it sits atop a hilly area near his apartment, an old French-inspired architecture of blues and whites amidst a clutter of identical three-storied cement buildings. A blue rose amongst mundane red and grey.

Jaehyun’s always had a soft spot for tactile things, and working an espresso machine is everything that has to do with touch, practice, perfection. Although the service industry can be stressful, he learns a lot about dealing with all kinds of people. He calls it training. Johnny thinks it’s because he can’t find a part-time job in his field, which, there are rarely any internship positions in crime investigation departments anyway, so his point is moot.

Johnny, on the other hand, studies architecture at Seoul National University, and he often laments on the fact that people no longer design architecture as they once did. For beauty, not how well it functions.

It doesn't take a genius to guess why Johnny works at the café.

The library is a bus ride away. It's open to the wee hours in the evening and, much like most other government subsidized facilities, is heavily guarded at all entrances by detectors. Detectors for the black wrist band on everyone.

It's government issued, for tracking and identity purposes, or so they say. Most people go with it, not because they’re fooled by the government-issued notice, but because they believe they’ll never find themselves on the other side of the law. But there is also the underlying threat that if it’s damaged or forcibly removed, the person in question will be apprehended and questioned (read: interrogated).

Fear incites obedience. Then, over time, that becomes complacency.

As a future law enforcer, Jaehyun understands and respects that laws are necessary, but he doesn’t agree with the current ones at play. Still, he holds onto the hope that things can change. Until then, the band is pretty good with telling the time, so at least it’s not completely useless.

Hours pass.

Jaehyun doesn’t leave the library until 3 am. His assignment is a few thousand words in and uploaded onto the Student Cloud System. The buses have stopped running an hour ago, so he hitches the backpack tight across his shoulders and walks home.

It’s almost 4 am when he reaches his apartment. The air has cooled considerably, and the lamppost reveals a thin layer of fog in front of him. Which is why he doesn’t see the figure laying beside the apartment garbage station until he's 2 ft away. Then he jumps, a yelp  almost ripping from his throat. Almost.

His pulse quickens.

Did he just stumble into a murder scene?

He takes a cautious step forward, then another. The figure doesn’t move. His breath becomes shallow as he approaches the body. From this distance, he can see more clearly. It’s a young man, with a head of silvery white hair, laying on his side at the foot of the garbage station. He commits all of the details to memory, and checks the time for good measure. Finally he looks up again, and calls out, “Hey, can you hear me?”

The figure doesn’t respond.

He frowns and takes a step closer, then realizes the figure is wrapped in surgical bandages. But there’s no trace of blood, nor are there any blood trails leading up to the garbage station. He steadies his breathing and crouches low, but still at least a foot away.

“Hey.” He tries again. But the figure doesn’t even move.

Fuck-

Wait.

Six ports. Two columns. Three rows. On the back of his- _its_ neck.

It’s an ARC.

“Oh Jesus Fucking Christ.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and that concludes the prologue.
> 
> Hi! Hello. Welcome to yet another hopelessly realistic, hopelessly romantic Jaeyong fic that you'll be probably be screaming at for the next while (sorry in advance!). As always, I promise I'll see this to the end, so I hope you'll also join me for the ride... but I'll warn you now, it's going to be a long one. I've never written this genre before, so any and all comments and constructive criticism are welcome.
> 
> I hope you're ready for this. I'm not sure that I am.
> 
> Thank you, take care, and tread softly,  
> Kei


	2. 01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you had the chance to learn again, how would you learn?

Jaehyun slumps into a squat and steadies his breathing, muttering a slur of expletives at the people who thought this was a good idea, wrapping a human-like ARC in surgical bandages and disposing them at the garbage station-

When his heart rate has mostly returned to normal, he glares balefully at the pale ARC under the lamppost, then shakes his head. This is ridiculous. He stands and turns to his apartment when an idea clicks.

One man’s trash is another’s treasure.

Slowly, he twists around to eye at the discarded ARC.

There’s no harm in trying, right? If it doesn’t work out, he can always throw it out again- and dispose it properly so it doesn’t look like a murder scene. Plus, his two best friends, Sicheng and Doyoung, are both studying mechatronics engineering and Doyoung has boasted that he can take apart and put together an ARC blindfolded, so maybe...?

He looks around, then at the pale-haired ARC again. If it works, even at the most basic level, he’ll have saved thousands of credits.

With his mind made up, he carefully inspects the ARC.

The ports aren’t damaged. Apart from a small bludgeon on the corner of its right eye, the outer ‘skin’ layer looks to be in good shape. In fact, _everything seems fine_ … Curious. When he hefts the ARC into his arms, he’s surprised to find that it’s much lighter than he imagines. It weighs just like a human would...

A shiver shoots up his spine, but he suppresses it.

It’s an ARC, not a human. There is no heart under these layers.

He pulls the figure closer to him and slowly climbs the stairs up to his apartment. The door senses his key in its proximity and automatically unlocks with a soft click. He quietly shoves it open, and the warm lights blink on.

His house is livable, with 500 square feet of usable space. To the left of the door is a kitchen, to the right a storage area and beside it, the bathroom. The rest is the living area, a low table in one corner, a large closet beside it. And finally, his futon, folded carelessly, in the other. He also has a balcony, but he rarely uses it.

He toes off his shoes and moves into the apartment, then lays the ARC down.

…

What now?

He crouches next to the ARC and… snaps his fingers in front of its eyes.

Nothing.

 _Well_ , it’s not like he expected _something_ to happen per se, but there’s a small spark of disappointment nonetheless. So maybe turning on an ARC is not something he actually knows to do, having never owned or worked with one before. He pulls out the old piece of super laptop and waits for it to boot up, then he says aloud, “Computer: How to turn on an ARC.”

The laptop pauses, as though judging him for not knowing the basics, before whirring to life and soon, a disfigured, computerized voice responds, “If all else fails, connect the two green power cords to a charging port.”

Why does it always sound like it’s sneering at him?

Jaehyun rolls his eyes and cups the back of the ARC’s neck gently, his another hand on its shoulder, and rolls it to its side. He’s seen Johnny do this before, the power cords are the bottom two. Pressing down to unlock the two wires, he pulls them out and plugs them into the outlet, and waits.

Still nothing.

He frowns, and sits back on his haunches.

Is it really broken beyond repair?

“Computer: Is there another way to turn on an ARC?” He asks.

The computer blinks on and, after a moment, it responds, “There is a physical kill-switch in some older models. If there is no identifiable manufacturer, you will have to look for it and press and hold five seconds.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes. Press and hold five seconds, really? That is so 21st century.

He eyes at the ARC, from its exposed neck and collarbones, all the way to its feet, and takes a moment to… compose his emotions again. Even if is just an ARC, it looks like it can suddenly wake up and blink at him, just like a normal human would. Does Sicheng and Doyoung get this feeling when they boot their ARCs up?

Taking a deep breath, he leans over the model, finds a loose piece of surgical bandage, and begins the arduous task of unwrapping the metal suit. A moment later, bandages are unravelled and a very naked, very anatomically correct ARC lays before him.

Well. Then.

He clears his throat and suppresses a blush and looks for a button. Is it red? Maybe blue. Or green? That usually means to turn on, right?

Ten minutes later, he’s searched every stretch and crevice, but there’s nothing he can press. The skin is seamless, the other wires in the back of its neck click to lock and unlock, but are otherwise unresponsive. He’s even checked behind the eyelids, but pale whites stare lifelessly back at him, which makes this whole thing even more unsettling.

Jaehyun makes a quiet sound of frustration, then falls back completely.

It’s ridiculous. He’s eating into his sleeping hours. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have a morning class tomorrow- the first and only one being at 2 pm- but he still needs to sleep.

Maybe this _is_ an older unit, and those will only turn on after being completely charged? Maybe it’s another weird quirk. Maybe-

Jaehyun frowns and stares at the ARC for a moment, then looks away as his cheeks grow warm.

He quickly stands up and wets a cloth before wiping the ARC unit down, then rummages through his closet for clothes. He finds a pair of black sweatpants and plain white tee, then pulls them on the ARC. They fit a bit big, buy they'll do. It’s one thing to bring an ARC home, it’s another thing altogether when the ARC is naked next to him as he sleeps _._

When he’s done, he gently rolls the ARC onto its back again, washes up, then rolls out his futon with an exhausted sigh. He’ll message Doyoung and Sicheng in a few hours, it’s much too early to bother the two. They’ll probably have a better idea of how to proceed, unlike him, who spent ten minutes looking for a damn power button.

For the first time, Jaehyun wishes he paid closer attention to IT class.

It’s only when he’s turned off the lights and laying in bed did he see it: a single piercing on the ARC’s ear- in the top corner of its cartilage, hidden under silver hair. And it’s glowing red.

“Lights at 25%.” He orders almost urgently.

The warm light floods the room in a dim glow as he crouches close to the ARC, a hand brushing the white hair behind an ear as he examines the earring closely. It’s a red stone encased in black metal and it’s… humming. His heartbeat quickens.

Piercings and tattoo were a 21st century fancy, an old age practice of shallow body modifications that has lost its appeal over time (the current trend being the insertions of electronics to become, by definition, a cyborg). It’s not common to see piercings and earrings nowadays, especially not within city. That being said, Jaehyun does have his ears pierced, one on each lobe, a dumb dare from when he was young. It had earned a stern talking down to by his parents, but he'd convince them it would close over time, and they calmed down considerably after that.

Long story short, the one on his right did close. The one on his left has been largely ignored until a year ago, when Johnny finds out and buys him a silver hoop, so he keeps it on. So he kind of knows how this goes.

One hand gently feels for the spherical knob in the back, and two fingers squeeze the red stone in the front. Maybe if he twists it-?

It clicks off.

A beat.

The two pieces fall on Jaehyun’s palm and a sharp electrical charge shoots through Jaehyun’s hand, but what captures his full attention is the ARC in front of him. It's glowing pale white from between the planes of muscle folds under the synthetic skin- muscles with lines of definition just like a human- and its mouth opens slightly, its chest expanding slight like it’s taking in a deep, stuttering breath- then another- and it starts coughing-

Like it has lungs.

The body convulses and curls as the coughs rattle its entirety- it’s almost as if the lungs are getting used to air again-

Jaehyun watches in equal parts of horror and fascination.

The ARC twists to its side- the power cords rip out from the motion and flies back into its neck- then slowly, the glowing dims from within its body and the coughing subsides.

Jaehyun slumps down with a soft exhale, not realizing that he was holding his breath in the first place, and tries to calm his fiercely beating heart. _What the hell-_

Then, opens its eyes and Jaehyun catches sight of piercing grey.

Jaehyun freezes.

Never has he seen such arresting grey eyes. Not even with implants and augmentation does anything synthetic comes remotely close. They look _ethereal._ And while to say that he’s scared is a bit of a stretch, he does feels helplessly rooted to the spot. A small voice wonders if this is how all ARCs come to life, but it's quickly ignored when the ARC blinks once, then meets his gaze squarely.

For a long moment, neither move. But Jaehyun eventually comes back to his senses and by then, the ARC has already shifted its gaze around his body several times. He approaches the ARC with caution, “Hey.”

Instead of replying, the ARC continues to stare at him. Did it not understand him?

Jaehyun clears his throat. “I’m Jaehyun.” He starts, gesturing to himself.

Something shifts. The sharp, grey eyes pin him with an intense gaze and Jaehyun unconsciously shifts backwards. The earring digs into his palm, he's forgotten all about it in the moment… Is this normal? Do they all act this way after being reset?

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” He ventures slowly, cocking his head to the side.

The ARC tilts its head. It doesn't speak, but Jaehyun sees a light flickering in its eyes, oddly like the look of recognition, so he tries again.

“Do you understand me?”

After a long pause, the ARC nods slowly, and Jaehyun’s face brightens immediately.

“I can’t believe this. This is like Christmas came early!” He exclaims with a wide smile. “What are your capabilities? What can you do?” He frowns. “I hope your language centre isn't damaged or destroyed. But you can understand me, so it isn’t, right?”

The ARC nods again, though Jaehyun notes a hint of amused exasperation in his eyes. Or maybe he’s just imagining it.

“What do I call you? Do you have a model code? Serial number?”

The ARC pauses, processing the question. Then:

“ARC-950701.”

Each character is enunciated with even pauses, and a grey eyebrow quirks up slightly at the end. Jaehyun is surprised at its voice. It’s deeper than he expected, and smoother. Almost spoken with a melodic flow. Even this is surprising.

Jaehyun chews his lip. “What are you programmed with?”

“The language centre?”

Huh. Is the ARC trying to make a joke?

“And a dry humour too, it seems.” Jaehyun surmises wryly. He's never met an ARC that wasn't pleasant to talk to.

“It seem so.” ARC-950701 echoes and, miraculously, the corner of its mouth quirks up. What the hell-

Maybe ARC-950701 was programmed by a student to have a snarky attitude, and when it got too much, was wiped and discarded? But it did exercise enough apprehension to respond in a roundabout way, so maybe security systems…

“Any security systems I should be aware of?” Jaehyun asks, curiosity piqued.

Again, the ARC tilts its head.

“I guess that's I don't know?” He nods at the ARC unit, who nods back… hold on a second.

“What… wait. What are you?”

“I'm ARC-950701.” Comes the response, in the same tone Jaehyun had introduced himself in, including the hand that gestures at himself.

“What is a language centre?” Jaehyun presses.

It tilts its head. Then Jaehyun understands.

The ARC doesn't know anything but its model number- it's as clean a slate as they come. It's learning through speech patterns and observations alone. _It’s learning from him._

Well, then.

Jaehyun wasn't aware old models of ARCs had such advanced learning algorithms, but this can come in handy. It’ll just take some time to implement the programs, but he’s sure either Doyoung or Sicheng can help him. It’ll probably take them no time at all, especially since Doyoung built his own mini-ARC, Jungwoo, and Sicheng made heavy modifications to his Kun.

Plus, he’s tired. The ARC turns on, and it’ll likely be able to handle the basic things he needs an ARC for, so he’s not going to push anything for now.

It can wait.

“Well, it's really late and I'm really tired, so I’m going to sleep.” He announces.

The ARC tilts its head, eyeing him curiously. “What is a sleep?”

Jaehyun pauses, then looks at ARC-950701. Self-learning capabilities.

“‘What is sleep?’” He corrects, and Taeyong nods in acknowledgment.

“It's a necessity.” Jaehyun begins slowly. “It’s a state in which the body and brains of a human- wait a body is… man, this is hard.” He pauses, looking for the right words. "Um."

ARC-950701 blinks. “What is a hard? What is hard?”

“Second one.” Jaehyun confirms, holding up two fingers. Grey eyes stare at the fingers, then at him, then nods. “Hard is the opposite of easy.” He draws his palms out facing each other, and pinches his index and thumb in one hand while widening the space in the other. “Easy is when accomplishing something takes little effort. Hard is when accomplishing something takes a lot of effort.”

Again, the ARC nods once, and Jaehyun smiles in return.

“Sleep is when the human brain- well. Okay. So, I am a human. I have a brain inside me that dictates what I do. I also have a heart here-” He points to his chest. “It’s. Humans are complex living organisms. We can also be incredibly fragile, and have specific needs to be met. For example, you need electricity to power on,” He points at the outlet in the wall. “I need food, water, air and sleep to live. And sleep is when I rest. My body and brain are doing the least amount of work so that I can rest… for power to keep going.”

There is no outward acknowledgment for a while, but Jaehyun can see from its eyes that the ARC is processing all of this information.

He's never seen such emotive eyes on an ARC before.

“I need to sleep now, but we can um- I can teach you more things tomorrow. Okay?” He asks.

Again, the ARC nods.

“Good night.”

“... Good night.”

Jaehyun eyes at Taeyong a bit dubiously, like wondering if the ARC actually understands him, but there's no way to confirm. So he slips between the sheets and orders the lights to dim again. The ARC watches him, then slowly mimics his movements. Jaehyun hears the shuffling, but the tiredness overtakes his curiosity and he falls asleep.


	3. 02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever been shocked by static electricity?

When Jaehyun wakes up the next morning, he becomes aware of two things. One, the blinds have drawn back- he's forgotten to pull them down since he’d gotten home so late (or early, depending on the perspective). And two, the ARC he picked up last night is currently staring at him very, very closely.

“Hol-motherfucking-!” He yelps and jumps, clutching the sheets against his chest.

ARC-950701 sits up with a jolt as well, eyes widening in shock.

Last night's events come crashing back as Jaehyun slowly regains his surroundings. Bright grey eyes trace from his hands, clutching embarrassingly tight to his blankets, up his arms to the lines of his neck, to his face, then finally meets his blurry gaze.

Not in danger. Right.

Jaehyun lets out a tired sigh and instinctively taps his band. It flickers bright 11:08 am in slab digits, and Jaehyun taps it again to turn it off and scrubs his face. It’s earlier than he would’ve liked, but there’s no way he can go back to sleep now...

The ARC watches him, and he stares back.

In proper lighting, the ARC looks even more ethereal. Its hair is a translucent silver-white, its skin fair and smooth. The grey eyes are intense as ever, but under the sunlight, they look less intimidating. Or maybe because they’re no longer glowing like they did when it first “woke up”. And maybe because it’s wearing Jaehyun’s clothes and looks somewhat cute...

_Anyway._

“Motherfucking-?” It repeats in question.

Jaehyun’s eyes widen and immediately raises his hand. “No. Um.” He clears his throat. “That’s not a good word to repeat. Ignore that.” He stammers.

It studies his expression, then nods slowly. “Okay.”

Jaehyun shoots a pained smile before exhaling deeply. Is this what having a child is like? Not that his sexual orientation deters him from wanting one, but if he has to watch everything he says, then he might as well write it off before he gives it a more serious consideration.

He slowly climbs to his feet and gives a mighty stretch, working out the kinks and pops in his spine and ignoring the stare from the intense grey eyes with weak, morning determination. _Make coffee, shower, drink coffee, catch up on mildly censored municipal, state, national and international news, and…_

The ARC blinks at him. He stares back.

“Good morning,” he says finally.

“Good morning,” the ARC echoes, voice pleasant.

He thought he could ignore the ARC, treat it like all the other electronics in his life. But it has a presence that begs to be acknowledged, just like a human, which is so new to Jaehyun that he finds himself thinking of it less as an _it_ and more of a _he_. It doesn’t help that it learns like a human, too.

The room lulls into a silence. Jaehyun regards the ARC for a long pause, before standing a little straighter and clears his throat. “Do you blink out of necessity, or to mimic humans?”

“What is a blink?” It asks.

“You remember that I’ve used the word ‘necessity’ last night?” Jaehyun asks.

The ARC nods.

“Necessity is what I’d said: something that is needed. To a human, blinking serves a function, but can also mean different things depending on context. Normally, I blink because my eyes get dry. If my eyes get dry, I will have trouble seeing. If I can’t see, I can’t process the information I perceive with my eyes. If I can’t sense with my eyes, then I’ll be in a lot of trouble,” He explains, watching the ARC take in the information. “But I can also blink to express my emotions. For example- oh I wish you had the ability to connect to the internet. This is taking so long to explain.”

Jaehyun takes a deep breath.

“I’m going to make coffee while I do this.” He announces, mostly to himself.

Again, the ARC nods.

As no other response is forthcoming, Jaehyun shuffles to the small kitchen, fills the back container with water, and presses a button to grind the beans into the brewing cup. The ARC peers over his shoulder, staring at the machine with rapt attention.

“Humans can blink to express one, or a combination of emotions. Emotions are what humans feel, a chemical reaction that, when detected by the brain, can trigger other behaviours. I’d go into further detail but I’m no life-science major, and it’s too early in the morning and I’m only making my first cup-” Jaehyun shakes the brewing cup around and, when satisfied with the coarseness of ground, pops it into the machine. “I should bring you to the library someday.”

“What is… this?” The ARC asks, bending over to look underneath the brewing cup.

He looks so… concerned, eyebrows drawn together like the sound of the beans getting crushed is offending him. It makes Jaehyun smile.

“A coffee machine. They don’t have too many of these left, especially since replicators are becoming more and more popular.” Jaehyun explains, resting a hand lovingly on the hood of the machine. The ARC stares at his hand, then at his face, and nods once.

“This is coffee?” It asks, looking at the bag of beans on the counter.

Jaehyun shakes his head. He brings the bag under his nose and opens the seal and inhales indulgently. “These are the coffee beans.” He tips it over slightly, and the ARC peers over, then closes one eye to better focus on the contents of the bag. “The machine crushes the coffee beans into a coarse ground, then it heats up the water here-” He taps on the side of the machine. “The heated water goes through the grounds and into this pot.” He points at the glass pot that is slowly collecting a dark liquid.

The frown on the ARC’s forehead deepens.

“This is coffee?” It asks, nose wrinkling as it points at the dark liquid.

“The one and only.” Jaehyun smiles, re-sealing the bag of beans and throwing them into the pantry. The ARC tilts its head, and Jaehyun realizes he didn’t give a straight answer, so he opts for a nod. Satisfied, the ARC turns back to the machine.

“Is this a necessity?”

Jaehyun tilts his head back and laughs. “Arguable, but right now? I’d say yes.”

The ARC stares at him.

Jaehyun smiles easily. “That was a laugh. Humans usually laugh when they find something funny, or if they’re happy. Happiness is one of the few universal emotions and-”

The coffee machine beeps.

“And that is the sound of happiness, right there.” Jaehyun finishes with a light hum. Without another moment of hesitation, he pours himself a generous helping of coffee into a dark blue mug, then turns back to the ARC. “Here, smell this.”

He makes a gesture to inhale the black liquid. The ARC eyes at him for a moment, then the contents in the mug, and walks up to it with an air of caution. Jaehyun suppresses a smile.

“It doesn't bite.”

The ARC gives a shallow sniff, mimicking Jaehyun, and wrinkles his nose.

“It's probably an acquired taste, but I love the smell of these beans. The taste is rich and not too acidic, the perfect way to start a morning.” He smiles and blows on the liquid, then takes a long sip. The ARC leans on the heels of its feet and eyes Jaehyun dubiously.

“I’d offer, but I’m not sure if ARCs can drink coffee.” Jaehyun says with a teasing smile as he shuffles out of the kitchen. When he settles cross-legged on his futon, the ARC copies his movement.

“I know this is late, but since last night was kind of crazy, at least for me, so I'd completely foregone a proper introduction.” The corner of his mouth quirks. “I’m Jaehyun. A third year university student studying at the National Police Academy, majoring Criminology with a minor in Psychology. I like coffee, sports, and singing, but not many people know about the last one.”

He pauses, watching the ARC absorb this information with a light of acknowledgment in its eyes, then continues. “I’m currently working as a part time barista in a cafe a ten minute walk up that way- that is, I make coffee. Lots of it. And I spend most of my free time studying and exercising.”

He sticks a thumb out in a direction, and the ARC’s gaze follows it past the wall, then back at him, brows drawing in slightly.

Jaehyun smiles again, eyes curving into crescents. “Not literally that way. The cafe is up a hill, past the busy intersection and bus terminal. I can show you later. But for now, I need to shower and get ready for school.” He finishes with a sip on his coffee. The ARC nods.

“School is where you study?” It asks, and Jaehyun nods in response.

“Yes. I’ll be gone for a few hours.” He replies.

“What are hours?”

Jaehyun contemplates this question for a moment, then gestures to the black band on his arm. He taps it once, and the digits blink holographic.

“It’s 11:32 am right now. These are the numbers.” He says, flipping his arm and pointing to the projected numbers. The ARC leans closer. “See how the numbers here changes very quickly? Those are seconds. It counts up, and when it hits 9, the next digit changes like this-” The clock face now reads 11:33 am. “There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day. And today is-” He taps on the wrist band again. “-the 184th day of the year,”

The ARC makes a sound of acknowledgment. “How many days are there in a year?” It asks curiously.

“365 in a normal year. 366 in a leap year. Leap years are-” And so he blabbers on about time while he nabs a towel from the door handle and shuffles into the bathroom instinctively, only pausing when he realizes the ARC is about to follow him straight into the shower stall.

“Time is a measurement, but… to be honest I'm not too sure what it is either. It's hard to explain. Also,” He looks away and clears his throat. “I need to shower now. Wait here, okay?”

For a moment, the ARC looks like it doesn't give a flying fuck about social pleasantries when pitted against learning, but it meets Jaehyun’s gaze and pauses, then turns away with a quiet, barely audible sigh. Jaehyun realizes that it might’ve rolled its eyes if it knew, and shakes his head with a small smile.

No one told him having an ARC around could be this entertaining.

With his strangely-earned personal time and space, Jaehyun takes a quick shower and feels more refreshed than he remembers. Between studying, exercising, his part time job and school, he’s forgotten to relax and take it slow. The shower puts him in a good mood, so much that he’s bumbling through his apartment, taking his sweet time getting dressed. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he didn’t suddenly remember a pair of striking grey eyes observing his every breath. He slowly turns his head and meets its gaze.

“Uh.”

The ARC doesn't respond, but it avert its eyes to a spot on the wall, like he didn't just cop a whole look of Jaehyun only in boxers.

Jaehyun pauses mid-step and blinks. “Wow. Are you starting to understand social constructs? You wouldn’t have batted an eyelash earlier this morning; but now, this,” he says, an edge of wonder to his voice. “Your learning capabilities are amazing.”

The ARC clears its throat. “Like you said, there’s a lot to learn around here,” comes the neutral reply.

Jaehyun can’t help but laugh. Shaking his head, he pulls on a pair of loose slacks, shirt and black hat, then reaches for his bag. The ARC looks his way again, suddenly interested. For some reason, its behaviour reminds Jaehyun of the cat his parents had when he was a child. Aloof, curious, particular.

He finishes up and heads to the door, pausing only to look at the ARC again.

“I’ll be heading out now then.” He says.

The ARC nods.

Jaehyun regards it for a moment, then pats its head. He's felt it before, last night when he was trying to get the earring off, but the ARC has really soft hair. He smiles.

“Be good. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

He doesn’t expect the ARC to respond, but when the pink lips pull into a small smile, Jaehyun stills.

Wow.

 _Damn,_ that was cute.

Okay.

He hasn't had enough sleep to begin deciphering what that meant, but he's becoming more convinced to stop analyzing everything. It’s probably just from not getting enough sleep, being too excited about finding an ARC, the whole deal. He shakes his head and heads to the bus stop and the door hisses to a click behind him.

•••

Jaehyun goes about his day as usual, or as much as he can with the thoughts of an ARC crossing his mind ever so often.

Okay, he's distracted, excited- hell, anyone would be if they come across a free ARC that seems to be in good working condition. Sure, 950701 needs a couple new systems to do what he wants it to do, but those are  _affordable_ , and he's pretty sure Doyoung and Sicheng will have spare or older systems he can take, but damn-

A full sized ARC.

He shoots a quick message to the two, confirming a time when they can all meet, and tries to tune back to class.

•••

Class ends shortly after 5 pm and Jaehyun packs up and leaves with uncharacteristic speed, bounding through the streets to a café between his and Sicheng's and Doyoung’s universities, which is still a good 12 minutes away. The hottest time of the day may be over, but the residue heat compresses a wall of humidity in the air, so his shirt is stuck to his body by the time he reaches the establishment.

He sees their faces through the window and waves briskly before pushing the doors to the chilled interior.

“You look like shit.” Doyoung says without preamble. Sicheng snickers and nods in agreement. Jaehyun has half a heart to flip them the bird, but reins it back in time.

“Thanks. Running through the streets for ten solid minutes after a night with little sleep does this. But you know me, I aim to please.” He snaps without hesitation, flicking a bead of sweat squarely onto Doyoung’s face, and he screeches loudly in complaint.

Sicheng snorts and offers a tissue for Jaehyun, who takes it and starts patting down his forehead and neck. “I know it’s a pretty big deal, but you don’t need to be in this much of a hurry,” he teases.

“I just don’t want to go home to see my apartment trashed beyond repair. Not that I think it'll happen, but you never know.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes and looks at the menu for a brief moment, then decides on an iced coffee because everything else is too expensive. He types it into the Optix glass and the order submits into the kitchen.

“Right. The ARC. Tell us more.” Sicheng nudges Jaehyun was Doyoung pulls out his mini-ARC, Jungwoo, from his bag and settles the cute android on the table. Jungwoo flickers on as Doyoung pulls out an Optix glass and stand, then upon seeing what Doyoung is preparing for, asks if he’d like him to connect his optical wires. Doyoung nods.

Jaehyun tries not to seem interested, but Sicheng reads him like an open book.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this interested in ARCs, I guess owning one does change a person.”

Jaehyun rubs the back of his neck. “Honestly, I didn’t know what I was getting into, either. It took me a good ten minutes to turn it on, then a whole conversation to realize it knows nothing but its name… er, serial code.”

The square in the middle of the table splits open and Jaehyun’s iced coffee pops out from underneath, then it closes up again. He takes a long, satisfying sip and almost finishes a third of the drink in one gulp, then sighs contently.

“Which is?” Doyoung already has his fingers poised above the projected keyboard, waiting eagerly for Jaehyun’s answer.

“ARC-950701.”

“You heard it, Jungwoo.” Doyoung says as he gets to work with the research.

Meanwhile, Sicheng takes out his mini-ARC, Kun, sits him on the table, and detaches the two power cables at the base of his neck. Then Jaehyun remembers.

“How are you supposed to turn on a full-sized ARC anyway?”

Kun clicks 'awake' as Sicheng straightens from reaching around the table for the electric outlets.

“You just have to plug them in,” answers Sicheng.

“Barring that?”

Sicheng contemplates. “Well…”

“Possibilities are endless.” Doyoung steps in. “You may have gotten yourself a personalized ARC, or an old one. There’s no information on an ARC-950701 anywhere on the net, or the dark net.”

“...What you’re doing is borderline illegal I shouldn’t be here to listen to this.” Jaehyun mutters wryly. “But okay, so maybe someone built this ARC from scratch, then for some reason throws it away. How do I know it’s safe to use? Besides a functional language centre system, I haven’t figured out anything else.”

Doyoung starts typing again while Sicheng sticks out his palm and Kun jumps up and climbs on.

“Kun, connect with Cloud 2118 and tell me all of the systems we have available. Specifically those pertaining to connection with the Web and Cloud, and other basic functions. Keys and pass codes must be included.”

Kun’s eyes black out while it completes the assigned task. But Sicheng moves his hand around, like one would play balancing act with a pet, and Kun’s body instinctively moves to maintain its balance.

Jaehyun has never seen this before.

“If you don’t close your mouth a fly’s gonna lay eggs in there.” Sicheng snickers.

Jaehyun’s jaws snap shut, but he glares darkly at Sicheng, who laughs in his face.

“Anyway, if you both have time, you’re more than welcome to come over and give it a look," says Jaehyun, sipping up the rest of his iced coffee. "I’m not sure what you’ll find though-”

“Yeah, yeah, alright. I feel like you're going to need all the help you can get, or you'll actually break the ARC.” Sicheng interjects. “I don’t have anything else planned for the rest of the day, so I can come by.”

Doyoung also nods eagerly. “Count me in. A full sized ARC built from scratch is no easy feat. I’d love to pick it apart.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow, but lets it slide. Doyoung tends to get a little obsessive when it comes to ARCs, it’s his passion.

Sicheng shrugs, and places Kun on his shoulder while he unplugs the power cords. Doyoung does the same with Jungwoo.

“Would you like me to keep searching?” Jungwoo’s soft question struggles to break out from behind thin fabric of Doyoung’s pocket.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Please do.” Doyoung smiles apologetically, petting Jungwoo’s head.

After doing a rather fancy acrobatic move, Kun lands on Sicheng’s other shoulder, eyes clear brown again. “I have the results to the search. Would you like me to list them?”

Jaehyun watches Kun.

“Yes, he’s always been able to do that. You’re just too much in your own world to notice.” Sicheng answers the silent question with a smirk, then he turns to Kun, who slots himself into a velcro sling on Sicheng’s bag because apparently these are things he’s always been able to do.

“Sicheng’s just pulling your leg.” Doyoung rolls his eyes, and Kun almost jolts out of the sling when Sicheng reaches over the table to hit Doyoung, who blocks it with expert ease. “It’s an action system he finished last night. He was going to implement it into Jungwoo too, but I stopped him in time. Don't want my baby flipping out- literally.”

Sicheng rolls his eyes and grumble under his breath. “You’re no fun.”

“Lying isn’t good, Sicheng.” Kun pipes in.

“Hey, who built you?”

“Technically, the factory-” Kun starts.

Sicheng clears his throat in warning, and Jaehyun chuckles.

They arrive at the subway and tap their black wrist bands at the turnstile, before being admitted to the other side. The train arrives a short moment later, and the three alight the one heading east of the city.

Kun clears his throat. “I found thirty two systems, and took the liberty to download the latest of the categories you’ve noted so we can implement them when we get to Jaehyun’s,” he says brusquely.

Sicheng hums and taps on his wrist. But it's not the government issued band that lights up, it's his own design, a twist of silver and prussian blue. “Here.” Sicheng says almost begrudgingly.

Kun immediately brightens and bounces to his feet.

“What did you do?” Doyoung asks. Jungwoo and Jaehyun are also watching the exchange curiously.

“He's recently taken to old 3D spatial puzzles, so I designed more challenging variations to gift to him as reward.” Sicken snorts, but his tone is too fond to be angry. He probably had as much fun making the puzzles. “Thanks, Kun.”

But the mini-ARC is already lost to the world, his eyes blank as he picks apart the puzzles in his virtual reality.

Ridiculous, Jaehyun shakes his head. But fascinating.

Jungwoo pets Doyoung’s face and eyes meaningfully at Kun, and Doyoung chuckles under his breath as he lifts Jungwoo from his shoulder and places him beside Kun, who is sitting cross-legged on Sicheng lap.

“Kun, can I join?” Jungwoo asks shyly.

For a moment, Kun’s eyes turn brown and he grins enthusiastically. “Yeah, I'll add your connection!”

Jungwoo nods and his eyes pulse blue, then turn to their normal dark brown, then grey-blank, like Kun’s.

Doyoung catches Jaehyun’s wide-eyed look and snickers.

“If this is how ARCs are supposed to behave, I’m not sure the ARC I picked up is normal.” Jaehyun comments slowly.

“What you’re seeing is the product of tweaking. A lot of tweaking.” Doyoung boasts, puffing his chest up. “Most store-bought mini-ARCs don’t have the same personalities you see here. We went through pretty great lengths to get them to come this far, in fact-”

“Oi-” Sicheng hisses.  
“Hold up-” Jaehyun warns.

Doyoung stops to look around at the mostly empty car, and smirks and raises his hands in mock surrender.

“Just a law abiding citizen doing law-abiding citizen things.” He chuckles.

Sicheng sighs and immediately connects both Kun and Jungwoo to his Optix to delete chunks of their audio and black box visual memory- the two mini-ARCs roll their eyes in unison, and go back to their virtual puzzles.

“I don’t know how you’re still a free man sometimes.” Jaehyun sighs and shakes his head, watching Doyoung with a mix of amusement and wonder. Sicheng agrees with a loud sigh of exasperation. He's not overly fond of altering or clearing Kun memories

“You just get really good at not getting caught.” Doyoung grins cheekily. “Granted, what I say is true. The dark web is no longer illegal, even if it’s still conducts a lot of… eyebrow-raising transactions. I stay far away from those. But it does have a lot of information the public web doesn’t have access to, and that’s what makes it interesting.”

Jaehyun leans back and smiles wryly, hugging his bag close to his chest. “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes, Kim Doyoung.”

“No one ever does.” Sicheng mumbles under his breath. After a few more clicks, he disconnects both mini-ARCs and announces the job complete. Then he shoots Doyoung a warning that they all know will go largely unheeded, but Sicheng is tired of cleaning up after his messes.

Doyoung snickers.

•••

The sun casts long shadows from their backs and the heat is stifling, but not as bad as it was yesterday. Restaurants and shop lights blink on in bright neon colours as they walk down the small street. The cool air from the convenient store blows in their faces for a brief moment as someone enters the establishment, and soon, Jaehyun leads them up a familiar flight of stairs.

They get to Jaehyun’s apartment a little past 7 pm.

The door clicks open and the inside is dark and unexpectedly quiet.

Jaehyun toes off his shoes as he drops his keys in the small wooden bowl. “I’m home.” He calls out. Behind him, Sicheng and Doyoung also take off their shoes, and the door clicks into lock automatically.

No response.

“Hello?”

Jaehyun frowns and peers around the kitchen, then goes to the washroom, where a silvery-grey head pops out from the corner.

Jaehyun stumbles. “Whoa- hey! What are you doing in there?”

The ARC looks over his shoulder to the two strangers in the apartment, and its eyes narrow slightly.

Then Jaehyun understands.

“It’s okay, they’re my friends Sicheng and Doyoung- Doyoung is the one who looks like a rodent-” Jaehyun points behind him. But instead of the indignant complaint he expects, the comment is met with silence. _Huh._

He turns back to see both Doyoung and Sicheng stand by the door, eyeing the silver-haired ARC with growing interest.

ARC-950701 narrows its eyes further and it tucks itself securely behind the wall.

Jaehyun chuckles nervously. “Don’t be scared, they don’t bite! At least, Sicheng doesn’t.” He holds out his hand and makes a waving motion. ARC-950701 eyes them for a moment longer, before taking a small deep forward, and then another. Then it hides behind Jaehyun and peers around cautiously.

Feeling at a loss, Jaehyun turns back to his friends and shrug.

“Uh. So, yeah. This is it.” His scratches the back of his head, and both Sicheng and Doyoung’s eyebrows go so high they practically disappear into their hairlines.

Finally, Sicheng finds his voice again and says, “Wow. You really got lucky.”

“Yeah, no kidding. He’s really beaut-” Doyoung takes a step closer.

ARC-950701 shrinks back behind Jaehyun, and the hands on his shoulders push him between it and his two best friends.

“H-hey now, you really don’t need to worry. They’re good people.” Jaehyun tries to turn around, but finds that he’s pretty much rooted to the spot- the ARC is really damn strong. “C’mon, they just want to meet you.”

“Meet… me?”

Instead of explaining, Jaehyun eases (with strength) the hands from his shoulders and locks eyes with the ARC. He holds its hand firmly and guides it to his side. The ARC looks at their hands, then back at Jaehyun, then, finally, at the two strangers in the room.

“Let's order some food, then we’ll chat.” Sicheng pipes in.

Jaehyun nods readily in agreement. He squeezes the ARC’s hand once, but it isn’t until Doyoung, who has finally come to his senses and breaks his stare to help Sicheng with pizza toppings, that it squeezes back almost in reassurance, and Jaehyun lets go.

As the humans order the pizza, Kun and Jungwoo peer curiously at ARC-950701 from the kitchen counter. They were deposited there when they first entered the apartment. Kun waves at at the silver-haired ARC.

“Hey! What’s your name?” Kun asks, holding out his hand.

Piercing grey eyes look at the offered hand for a moment, before unfolding its pointer finger and makes contact.

“ARC-950701.” It answers in an even tone.

Kun frowns as he lets go. Jungwoo, beside him, also extends his hand and ARC-950701 moves its finger in his direction. “I don't mean your serial number. Don't you have a name?”

But its attention isn’t on Kun. It’s staring at Jaehyun and others, eyebrows tightening when Jaehyun’s arm around Sicheng’s shoulder tightens, drawing the two friends closer. A sudden urge to break the two apart surges through the ARC’s body, and it jolts in surprise.

“Earth to ARC-950701! Can you hear me?” Kun yells, waving his hands and jumping up and down.

Intense grey eyes turn back to Kun, and he smiles. “Do you like pizza too? Do you have favourite toppings?” He asks.

The ARC shakes its head silently.

“Oh. Well, I like ham and pineapples and pepperoni and-”

“Kun you’re overwhelming him!” Jungwoo interrupts with his soft voice and a well-meaning hand on the shorter’s arm.

“Oh, sorry. I get pretty excited when it comes to food.” Kun laughs sheepishly.

The tall ARC regards them for a moment, then bends over so they are at eye level. “I don’t have a name," it says.

“Oh.” Jungwoo says, and the three fall silent. Then Kun’s eyebrows shoot up and he bounces to the edge of the counter and points at Jaehyun.

“Then ask him for one!” He says excitedly.

Again, grey eyes scans across the room to where Jaehyun is now- on the phone tittering the pizza order through the small communication device hanging around his neck and over one ear. Sicheng and Doyoung are talking quietly amongst themselves, sneaking glances at it. ARC-950701 shakes its head.

“I’ll ask later," it replies softly, then turns back to the two mini-ARCS. “Have you tried food before?” It asks instead.

Kun and Jungwoo look at each other, and they shake their heads. “No. ARCs don’t eat,” Jungwoo replies.

“Oh.” It pauses as though in contemplation. “Do you smell, then?”

Both mini-ARCs nod.

It looks at them with slightly raised brows. “I see. And that is how do you enjoy food?”

“The scents are programmed as chemical formulas into our systems, and our preferences are matched to our controllers.” Kun answers. “So if I detect the same mixture of compounds, then I know the type of food around me. It gets really strange when you sense a lot of different scents in the air, but that’s how the human brain works. My olfactory system is designed to do the same sort of thing.”

For a moment, ARC-950701 considers this information, and nods eventually. “I think I understand.”

“You’re very good at learning.” Jungwoo grins, cheeks colouring with twin pinks.

“Oh! I have some things for you.” Kun suddenly remembers. “But I need Sicheng’s permission before I share the files. Hold on!”

Jaehyun ends the call and turns back just in time to catch Kun doing a flip mid-air to land softly on the floor, before darting across the room and up Sicheng’s leg like a squirrel.

“He looks like a squirrel,” Jaehyun notes teasingly.

Sicheng takes no such bullshit from anyone- especially not about his beloved mini-ARC, and he gives a split second for Kun to secure himself on his shoulder before taking two steps and socks Jaehyun in the shoulder.

“Not my Kun,” he growls protectively.

Jaehyun laughs. It barely hurts.

Kun waves at Sicheng to get his attention. “Sicheng, can I start transferring some systems over to ARC-950701 now?”

“Sure, but you should ask Jaehyun too.” Sicheng replies.

Kun turns to Jaehyun, who shoots ARC-950701 a look. ARC-950701 watches him almost with an air of reproachfulness before glancing at Kun, then back.

“Kun, can you tell me what the systems are about?” It asks.

Kun nods readily. “Net and cloud connectivity in one system, time and spatial sensory, location tracking, memory documentation and recall, complex and abstract calculations, a booster pack on slang and colloquial terms in 42 most spoken languages, touchpoints, diagnostics, debug, defensive action, offensive action, and first-aid action.”

The longer he goes on, the wider Jaehyun’s eyes grow and by the end, he shoots Sicheng a look of incredulity and amazement, and is met with an off-handed shrug.

“I write, tweak, and personalize systems in my spare time,” he explains.

Jaehyun snorts. It’s way more than that, but it also means, especially with Kun’s new action system, that Sicheng’s gotten really good at it.

ARC-950701 seems to have come to a similar conclusion. Its posture relaxes a little, its expression less tense. Jaehyun doesn’t want to push anything, but he doesn’t have to. It nods at Kun, who smiles and pushes Sicheng forward so he doesn’t have to dart across the room again.

But as soon as Sicheng moves, ARC-950701 tenses up again, eyes full of apprehension.

This time, Jaehyun steps in.

“Here. Let me-” He gently lifts Kun from Sicheng’s shoulder, and gestures for the ARC to come closer. Sicheng shuffles back and sits beside Doyoung, and Jungwoo’s climbed down the counter to join them as well. Jaehyun places Kun on 950701’s shoulder and looks at Kun. “Do you need me to connect anything?” He asks with unusual patience.

Kun nods and gestures to the middle two ports- the orange ones that allow for a physical connectivity between ARCs, and Jaehyun unlocks the cords and extends them to ARC-950701’s ports.

“I’m plugging it in now.” Jaehyun says aloud. Grey eyes watch him intensely for a moment, then they close gently, firmly.

The cords click into place and Kun’s eyes blank out again. Jaehyun moves back and the three wait while Kun implements the systems into ARC-950701.

“You should give him a name, you know.” Sicheng says quietly.

“I didn’t think to name it-him anything.” Jaehyun replies just as softly.

“It’s good to start thinking now.” Doyoung snorts. “Go on baby names sites or something, if you need inspiration.”

Jaehyun shoulders Doyoung none-too-gently, and Sicheng continues. “And stop thinking of him as an “it”, he’s much more sentient th-”

Kun’s brown eyes shoot open as a spark escapes the connection. Then threads of electricity bursts from the cords and, magically, or magnetically, the wires are ejected and flown back into Kun’s ports.

“What the hell?”

Jaehyun rushes to ARC-950701’s side in a second while Jungwoo and Sicheng huddle on the other side where Kun has fallen. Sicheng picks him up precariously, and it shakes its head and squeezes its eyes shut a few times.

“Who-oaa.” His voice glitches and comes to in the middle, and the auto-focus in his eyes snaps back into function.

“Hey, hey!” Jaehyun shakes the silver-haired ARC’s shoulders gently. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

“Are you hurt? What were you doing-” Sicheng starts.

Kun’s eyes blank for a moment, then returns to brown. He nods, squeezing Sicheng's hand gently. “I’m okay. I was going through the regular implementation checklist."

Sicheng nods for his mini-ARC to continue. "What happened?"

"I checked to see if his hardware was compatible with the systems, which they are but-” Then Kun pauses, frowns and looks at the still-unresponsive ARC, and pushes on. “I didn’t detect any security systems going in, but I must’ve triggered something when I started implementing the systems.”

Doyoung and Sicheng meet Jaehyun’s confused eyes, then the three turn to look at the ARC in Jaehyun’s arms. Kun clears his throat and continues, “I think this is the first time I’ve ever been short-circuited. My diagnostics and debug system are working to locate the area of error, and a report should generate in a few minutes. I’ll send it to your band for easier viewing.” He says to Sicheng, who nods carefully.

“So that wasn’t normal.” Jaehyun clarifies.

Sicheng nods. “Most security systems don’t trigger an electricity shock because it can also compromise their own cores.” He eyes at 950701. “It’s almost like the last line of defense. I’ve read reports on how some system-designers contemplate the idea, but I’ve never seen it because the risk is too great.”

“Well-”

Sicheng and Jaehyun both turn to Doyoung, who chews his bottom lip for a moment as he looks for his next words.

“I know that some countries design their ARC systems differently. I’ll have to look into that when I go home... but maybe the model you have is a foreign one, one that doesn’t abide to the production laws in Korea.”

“But the chances of wandering upon a discarded foreign ARC is like-”

“Close to none. Korea has strict policies when it comes to ARCs crossing the borders. All foreign ARCs are immediately sent back if they’ve entered illegally or overstayed their welcome. And no sane ARC controller would dispose a foreign ARC like this-”

“So either someone fucked with this ARC’s security system and realizes it isn’t worth the effort and throws it out. Or it’s from a different country.” Jaehyun concludes.

His friends nod.

“Good news is, he’s a clean slate.” Kun’s voice pipes in. All four heads (including Jungwoo) turn back to him. “I didn’t get to implement any systems, but from the surface-level report, he’s fully functional and wiped clean. He just doesn’t like people snooping around.”

Doyoung snorts. “That’s one way to put it.”

Jungwoo pets Kun’s hair softly.

Jaehyun carefully moves 950701 onto his futon, clearing the space a bit.

Then the doorbell rings.

Jaehyun jumps to get it, and is met with a stuttering teenager who apologizes profusely for being late. Jaehyun waves it off with a tense smile, paying for the pizzas and drinks, and sends the girl on her way.

“You should kick up a fuss and refuse to pay. I’m sure it’ll work.” Doyoung says wryly.

Jaehyun rests his head against the door and groans. “I don't know what to do, guys.” He admits in a low complain. “I thought this would be easy.”

Sicheng and Doyoung meet eyes, then Sicheng says, “If I were you, I’d keep trying.”

“Same.” Doyoung adds.

“So maybe its security system is a little feisty, but like Kun said, all of the hardware are in place, and that’s only what Kun’s programmed to discover. My guess is, if educated properly, the ARC can reach its full potential and work like any other ARC.” Sicheng supplements. “I’d offer to implement with Kun again, but disabling a security system is almost like hacking and I’d have to do way more research first so I don’t put him at anymore risk.”

He pets Kun’s hair protectively, and Kun places a comforting hand on Sicheng’s fingers.

“My system isn’t compromised, don’t worry,” Kun says.

“I’ll decide that when we get home and I run the full diagnostics test on you.” Sicheng says, tone brooking no argument.

Kun groans and whines and throws a tantrum. Diagnostics tests are boring and long and he’s not allowed to do anything in between. Jungwoo chuckles lightly and pats his friend’s shoulder lightly.

“It’s for your own good, Kun," he says with a wide smile.

“Easy for you to say.” Kun pouts.

“Alright. We have two pizzas, but it’s getting late and I think we’re done here. Lets just eat quickly and go.” Doyoung suggests. The other two nods and within minutes, only two slices remain. Doyoung offers to bring them home- says he’ll probably get hungry later.

As they get ready to leave, Jaehyun stops Sicheng by the door. “Hey, I’m sorry about what happened with Kun.” He says.

Sicheng shrugs it off. “It’s fine, I’m sure it caught everyone off guard, including you." He smiles wryly. "Plus I was the one who offered to implement the systems before I properly understood your ARC’s make. Cautionary tale for all.”

Jaehyun gives a small smile, and waves down the hall as his friends leave.

The door slowly clicks shut again, and it’s almost 10 pm.

Jaehyun eyes at the prone figure on his futon, just studying it from the distance of the door.

And realizes that it-no, _he-_ is breathing.

_Is he sleeping?_

“Did you faint? Or did you fall asleep?” He asks dryly.

His questions are met with silence.

Shaking his head, he washes up quickly and catches on some reading materials, punctuated by stolen glances at the ARC beside him. Sicheng’s words echo in his memory again- a name. He, not it. His sentience-

“Lights to 0%.” He says, tucking away his book as the room gradually darkens.

He rolls to his side and regards the ARC’s side profile. A hand brushes wisps of silver hair behind his ear, and he smiles wryly.

“Please don’t kill me in my sleep.” He says softly.

•••

The room is pitch black.

Grey-silver eyes snap open as ARC-950701 jolts awake, taking quick, deep gulps of air as his heart pounds. He looks to his side, where Jaehyun lays asleep.

_Shit._

He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to replay the memories, and vaguely remember catching a soft conversation after he’s blacked out.

Kun is fine.

He’s okay.

Slowly, his heartbeat steadies to normal. He chances another look at Jaehyun, then at them under the thin bed covers, and lets out a sigh. _So this is sleep…_

He slides under the covers again, but the noise puts a frown on Jaehyun’s face and he rolls to his side, so he and Jaehyun are now face to face.

He stops breathing.

Because warm brown eyes are  _open_ and _looking at him._

They stare at each other for a very long time. He can hear Jaehyun’s pulse loud and clear, then his eyes waver slightly.

“Are you-” Jaehyun starts.

He moves his hand to stop the other- much like what Jaehyun did in the morning- and nods quickly.

“I’m okay.” He says.

Jaehyun lets out a long breath and shuffles closer. “Thank god…” He mumbles and, unthinkingly, reaches for his hand in the middle and envelops it.

“Sorry for forcing you to do it. I didn’t know- I didn’t know _anything_." He pauses, catching his feelings. "I wish I wasn’t so eager, pushing things onto you. I didn’t mean to trigger your defense mechanism.” He mumbles softly, thumb rubbing soft circles on the back of his hand.

“It’s okay,” he repeats.

“It won’t happen again. I promise.” Jaehyun continues softly. “I'll take it slow. I’ll teach you things and bring you to the library. You'll need to be open with me too, so we can learn from each other, okay?”

He doesn’t know how to reply, so he just nods.

Jaehyun lets go of his hand, so he thinks the ordeal is over, but suddenly, an arm drapes around his middle and pulls him close- close enough that his head is tucked under Jaehyun’s chin, his ear right above Jaehyun’s heart-

“I’m sorry.”

…

“It’s really okay.”

He doesn’t sleep. At least, he doesn’t need it the same way Jaehyun does. But a sense tugs somewhere under his chest, and so he pulls back slightly and captures Jaehyun’s hand in his, like Jaehyun had done for him only hours ago, staring at his eyes.

“Good night, Jaehyun.”

The corners of Jaehyun's eyes crinkle and a small, crooked smile forms on his pink lips.

“Good night.”


	4. 03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you could learn about everything in the world, where would you stop at? Would you want to stop?

When the alarm sounds the next morning, Jaehyun jolts up and groans at the movement, then buries his head under the pillow, hiding from the sunlight that’s spilling into the room through the cracks of the curtains. The feelings of confusion and loss eat into his consciousness, and he struggles to remember why.

He was dreaming, which doesn’t happen all that often, and in that dream-

•••

He’s a child again in a space of white. There’s nothing else in it but a big, inflatable castle- almost the size of a mansion. He’s hesitant to go in at first, taking a step on the bouncy stairs leading to the open door, but the structural integrity holds and soon, he excitedly explores the tunnels and slides and steps, twisting and tumbling and laughing as he bumbles through the hallways.

Each turn brings up a new collection of bubble statues, paintings, and suits of armour, and he’s ducking and running between and around them until he gets to the middle foyer.

The sun roof spills technicolour light onto the middle, and there stands a boy with silver white hair and piercing grey eyes. And he’s staring at Jaehyun.

Jaehyun stills.

“Who are you?” The boy asks.

Jaehyun feels like he should know this boy. He can't say where or how, but there’s an eerie feeling of familiarity that nags at him...

“I'm Jaehyun. What's your name?”

“I'm Taey-”

Then a strange feeling comes- someone’s pressed a needle into the inflated castle and it begins to collapse. The hissing sound grows louder with each second, and Jaehyun sees confusion in the other boy’s eyes as he looks around, trying to figure out what’s going on. The ceiling sinks.

Jaehyun moves quickly, securing his hand around the other boy’s wrist, who shoots a wide-eyed look of surprise. He nods his head firmly and says, “Let’s go.”

They break into a sprint with Jaehyun leading the way. He knows it’s a dream. There’s no reason to feel that a collapsed inflatable castle can be dangerous, but his heart is pounding in his rib cage anyway. A particular sharp turn forces Jaehyun to let go of the other boy, but when he turns his neck to check, a flash of silver confirms that the other boy is right behind him. He keeps going.

The ceiling and walls have dipped so much that the sconces are almost at eye level now- and that’s when Jaehyun realizes he’s no longer a child but has the current height and age of 21. At a familiar bubble-winged statue, he turns left and sees the exit.

_Almost._

Darting across the room, he makes it out the door frame and looks back, expecting to see the silver-haired boy right behind him.

He isn’t.

The now-grown up ARC is in the shadowed, deflating castle, standing beside the bubble statue of the Winged Nike. Their eyes meet.

In that moment, Jaehyun sees the shadows and anguish inside the grey eyes, untold levels of pain and loneliness that are all but spilling out from the windows to the soul. Jaehyun wants to run back, wants to pull the boy out with him, wants to save him-

But the scene draws back in scope and the remaining fabrics of the inflated castle sucks into itself- like a black hole- and Jaehyun opens his mouth, a sharp inhale to shout, hand reaching- it’s too late.

The colourful castle is gone, and with it, the boy with silver-white hair.

Jaehyun’s hand falls to his side.

The space is pure white again.

•••

Jaehyun rubs his eyes and sits up slowly.

His breathing is laboured and pained, and he slows it with effort. He looks around.

ARC-950701 has propped himself against the wall, two power cords plugged into the outlet. His eyes are closed, but Jaehyun knows he’s alert. There’s a perk to his ears and energy to his posture that’s too tense to be in ‘sleep mode’.

Did he plug himself in?

“Morning.” Jaehyun says, trying to suppress the residue concern from his dream. This isn’t a dream, it’s reality.

The ARC unit slowly opens his eyes and blinks a few times. Then he turns and greets Jaehyun with a small smile, “Good morning.”

The light in his eyes are different from the one in Jaehyun’s dream. This one is softer, lighter and more open. This isn’t a dream, he reminds himself. Heaving a great sigh of relief, he breaks into a soft smile and rubs the tiredness from his eyes.

“How are you?” ARC-950701 asks.

“I’m… okay.” Jaehyun responds, then shoots ARC-950701 a measured look. “How are you?”

The ARC considers this for a moment too, then nods. “I’m okay as well.”

Truth be told, Jaehyun doesn’t know if ARC-950701 knows what “okay” even means. It’s such an ambiguous word that requires context at every use… but the ARC doesn’t seem to be in pain or glitching, so Jaehyun shakes his head, dispelling the thoughts. “That’s good," he replies.

Jaehyun rolls his shoulders and gives a small groan when a muscles pinch, then rubs gingerly on the spot there. The ARC watches.

“Do you have to go to school today?” He asks.

“Yeah. I have two classes today.” Jaehyun says, stretching his long legs out and stands up. “I also have work this evening.”

The ARC watches up from the floor.

“What are your classes?”

Jaehyun shuffles to the kitchen and starts his morning ritual. _Hm, he's running low on beans._ “Advanced Sociology in Mass Murderers in the morning, and Forensic Science in the afternoon.” He answers, pouring the beans into the grinder and pressing the ON button.

“And at work, you’ll be making coffee?”

“Yeah, the boss fixed the cooling system, so the cafe is open again.” Jaehyun says as he grabs for the toiletries, swimming trunks and towel to pack into his duffle bag. ARC-950701 notices.

“What’s that for?” He asks, pointing to the swimming trunks.

“Ah. I have an hour between classes, so I might go swimming. Haven't done much exercise the past couple days.” Jaehyun explains off-handedly, shoving a few more books into the bag. But with all of the contents, the bag looks to be bursting at the seams, so he digs the towel out and tries again. A couple minutes pass, but the outcome doesn't seem to be any different. “This isn't going to fit, is it?”

The ARC regards the pack for a moment, then shakes his head. “May I?”

Jaehyun raises a brow, mildly amused, and nods. The coffee machine beeps that instant, so he steps back and attends to that instead. The ARC yanks the towel from the pack and feels it for a moment, then looks at the rest of the pack and pauses. Jaehyun sips his coffee, watching.

The ARC unfolds his work and re-folds the lines- they're paper-edged straight. Then he rolls it up and tucks it to the side of the pack, and rearranges placement of the contents and zips the pack up.

When he completes the task, he looks at Jaehyun almost expectantly.

Jaehyun meets his gaze.

“You might need to bring a second bag.” The ARC ducks his head, looking pointedly at the zippers and keeping his tone neutral. “I doubt you’d be able to fit it all in like this without help a second time round.”

Jaehyun blinks. “I was just about to compliment you. Are you making fun of me?”

The ARC stares back with a blank face, but Jaehyun sees the mirth in his eyes.

“You little,” Jaehyun growls.

“You are not much taller than I am,” he notes with a glance up the top of Jaehyun’s head. “About this much.” His squeezes a pointer finger and thumb to indicate a very perfect two inches.

Self-aware. Observant. _Very_ precise.

Jaehyun leans back and arches an eyebrow. “Still taller. Also, shower time.”

“...If you want to remove dirt and grime from your body, there are other more efficient ways than standing under warm water scrubbing dead skin cells off,” the ARC comments casually.

Jaehyun slowly turns to look at the ARC unit again, who meets his gaze squarely and the corner of his mouth quirks up. _Really now._

“How did you figure it out?”

“Observation.”

It’s only then when Jaehyun remembers- his textbooks would be on the dresser, not the short table where he picked them up just now.

“...So, you’ve been reading.”

It’s not a question.

The ARC breaks into a small smile.

“It’s a bit tedious to flip pages, but pattern spotting is pretty easy and that’s how to learn any language. I feel I have more questions than answers though,” he says.

Jaehyun narrows his eyes at the ARC.

This ARC is not the same as the one from last night. His eyes glitter with knowledge that boasts confidence and, surprisingly, amusement. Or maybe the textbook authors all sound like confident (if not snarky) intellectuals, and the ARC has picked up on that.

“You can talk to me about those options when I have the money to afford more efficient cleaning solutions. Until then, shower I go.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes and digs in his dresser for clothes, then turns and almost walks right into the silver haired ARC.

“Well actually-”

Jaehyun presses a hand on the ARC's soft hair gently but firmly. “Not now.” He says, a stern edge to his voice.

This time, the ARC really does pout- bottom lip sticking out slightly, brows drawing into a small frown and is that water glistening on the bottom lids?- Really...

“Please? You can just listen to me.” He says, and Jaehyun really doesn't have the heart to tell him no, despite the silly but deep-rooted social mannerisms to shower alone. But he supposes, this is like a locker room situation. People milling about, sharing their musings aloud while taking a shower. Not a big deal, right?

“Fine, I’ll leave the door open. But don’t come in. And don’t peek.” Jaehyun grumbles, sidestepping the ARC and into the shower room. He strips pretty quickly and jumps into the narrow glass-enclosed space. Hot water spills from the shower head in seconds, and the glass fogs up quickly.

Meanwhile, ARC-950701 titters off the facts he’s learned from the rather lengthy chapter in Forensic Sciences on the most efficient way to clean a corpse before submerging the body in preservatives and antimicrobial solutions. Not the best morning chatter, but the ARC seems pretty happy to share something he learned, so Jaehyun lets it pass. The method he details does, indeed, seem cleaner than standing under hot water and scrubbing dead skin cells, but it’s meant for a _corpse._ He doesn’t want to make that association until he’s got 50 years of serving under his standard issued belt.

“Uh huh. Fascinating.” He says in a muffled reply when he finishes his shower. He opens the glass door and reaches for the towel when the ARC bursts into the room saying, “What was that?-”

The ARC looks all the way down and up again to meet his eyes, expression neutral _like there’s no reason to freak out_. Jaehyun, on the other hand, quickly steals the towel from the rack and covers his family jewels, blushing bright red literally (proven _extensively_ with visuals) from head to toe.

“What did I say about not coming in!” He hollers and turns quickly, wrapping the towel around his middle and making sure no bits are shown before spinning around again, but the ARC is nowhere to be seen.

“Hey! I’m not done talking!” He shouts.

No reply.

Jaehyun quickly dries himself before pulling his boxers on. This is becoming more and more like owning a cat. The old cat his parents had would also meow at the shower until he came out, just to make sure he was still there. Maybe he needs to teach this ARC about object permanence.

He strides into the open area of his apartment, but it’s not hard to locate the ARC in question, who has all but huddled into his unmade sheets.

“Hey,” he says sternly.

The ball of bedding lays very, very still.

Jaehyun sighs and calms his voice.

“I’m not pissed. Just come out.”

Still, the ball refuses to move.

“Don’t make me force my hand.” Pause. Still nothing. “Alright, I don’t have the time for this-”

He peels back the blankets with a strong grip- and sees the silver-haired ARC curled into a ball in his bedsheets, t-shirt riding high around his middle, hiding his face behind one arm and pressing against his ears with the other.

The best way to learn is through practice, right?

“C’mon, I’m not going to yell at you. I’m not mad. I just need you to know that even if you don’t see me, I’m still here. Like this.” Jaehyun gently peels an arm away from the ARC’s face and places it on himself.

Still, the ARC doesn’t move. He doesn't even try to peek, which feels almost uncharacteristic of him. But then Jaehyun sees the signs of a blush on the other’s cheeks and finally realizes their position. He’s kneeling over the ARC, practically forcing the other to touch him when he’s hardly clothed-

He scrambles off in a second.

The ARC still doesn’t shift away from him, but the tension bleeds from in the lines of his body and he lays there, taking deep breaths, eyes firmly shut. Shit. Maybe it isn’t about object permanence? Is he… pissed? Was Jaehyun too loud? He didn’t react until Jaehyun freaked out and raised his voice.

“Hey… I didn’t mean to raise my voice. You just caught me off guard.” Jaehyun settles beside the bed sheets and is about to place his hand on the other’s hair, but thinks better of it and settles it beside him. The ARC huffs.

So... it is the voice-raising.

Jaehyun sighs softly. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to not do that again.”

Slowly, the arm peels off and fierce grey eyes come to surface. But there’s also a hint of hesitation and, dare he say, trust.

This time, he doesn’t hesitate to bury his hand into the silver-white locks, running strong fingers through the soft hair, petting the ARC until flaming grey eyes bleed into a more consolable miffed expression.

He tries for a disarming smile.

Slowly, a hand pulls Jaehyun’s bigger one off his silver locks and brings it lower… almost to the point where his lips touch the palm...

Then the ARC rubs his nose and cheeks against the warm skin.

Jaehyun lets out a breath he doesn’t realize he was holding, and snorts. He runs his fingers down the nose of the ARC and up through the thick silver-white hair again. “You know about object permanence now though, don’t you? I’m not going to disappear just because you don’t see me anymore. I’m still here.”

“I was aware of that yesterday,” The ARC says, a soft grumble against his palm. “When you came back from school with your friends in tow.”

“Then why did you go into the bathroom?”

“I couldn’t hear you clearly and wanted to ask for clarification.” The ARC answers. Then he adds, “Is nudity a sensitive issue?”

Jaehyun’s fingers pause from carding through the ARC’s hair. He raises a brow. "It’s a social construct enforced at birth. Nudity can be a big deal when you’re human.”

The ARC meets his arched eyebrows, then shrinks back into the covers. “Hm.”

Jaehyun doesn't feel like he's forgiven, but as he checks the time and realize he only has minutes before he's late, so he pushes along more urgently. “I should get going.” He pulls on some clothes and pours the remaining coffee into a tumbler. Then he approaches the ARC, who sits up from the futon and eyes him cautiously.

“I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?” He says quietly, hand extending in question.

The ARC eyes his hand warily for a moment, then presses his cheek into the palm. The line of skin against his hand is cool and soft.

“Okay,” hey says.

•••

There's something about the day that doesn't sit well with Jaehyun, but he doesn't know where to pinpoint his discomfort.

Maybe it's the dream, for which he has many questions.

He's only seen the Winged Nike in passing when he researched on renaissance sculptures for a grade 10 art project. Did it have some kind of significance? And more importantly- perhaps most importantly, why did ARC-950701 show up in his dream? Why the colourful, inflated castle? Why did it all collapse and disappear into a black hole void? Why the white space?

And his name- Jaehyun tries his best, but he can’t remember the sounds formed by the boy in his dreams… they seem so vague and blurry now that he’s awake.

But even if he doesn't look too deep into the dream, which tends to be lucid when he's experiencing a lot of stress, it still leaves the ARC, in real life, and all the questions he comes with.

For a clean slate, ARC-950701 should be inactive when ‘resting’, not going through his textbooks to learn about Forensic Sciences. And yet.

So this ARC is beyond intelligent. He learns on his own, without external direction. In fact, he learns for the sake of learning. Jaehyun will need Sicheng and Doyoung to weigh in on that one, but he'd bet good money (had he any spare) that it's a rare occurrence.

Briefly, Jaehyun wonders at the rest of his textbooks and whether he'd go home to meet a newly minted serial killer.

He did tell ARC-950701 not to kill him, right?

Rubbing the back of his neck tiredly, he gives one more attempt to tune into the class.

•••

ARC-950701 looks at thing on the balcony again. It's furry with grey and white stripes, and it’s been there for exactly twelve point seven minutes, casually stretching and licking and sleeping under the sun. The ARC doesn’t know what it is, but he gets an odd sense of familiarity and he wants to get closer. But every time he moves, the appendages on the thing’s head twitches (what he assumes is the head, since it has visual receptors much like a humans, and turns like a human’s would).

It opens a lime-coloured eye when he finally edges to the side of the balcony.

Seventeen point eight minutes later, he slides the balcony door open and the thing jumps off the side, landing in the bushes underneath.

ARC-950701 stares after it for a moment, then slides the balcony door close.

Seconds later, the front door unlocks with a soft click and a wet-looking Jaehyun steps inside, letting out a sigh of relief as he carelessly toes off his sneakers and drops the duffle bag from his shoulders.

“Hey.” Jaehyun greets with a smile while he wipes his forehead with an arm.

ARC-950701 nods in acknowledgment. “Hi, how are you?”

“I'm alright. It's really hot outside.” Jaehyun rushes to the fridge and pulls out a jug of homemade cold brew, pours himself a generous helping, and sighs in bliss after the first gulp. ARC-950701 looks out into the balcony again, where the thing was napping.

“...You’re wet.”

Jaehyun pauses mid-way across the room, about to pull off his damp t-shirt. He levels the ARC with a look.

“...Yeah. It’s sweat.”

Hm. “You sweat a lot when it’s hot.”

“...Yes.”

Ah. So mentioning the state of wetness can be a sensitive issue.

“How were your classes, and swimming?” He switches topic instead.

Jaehyun stares at him a bit longer, then shakes his head. He pulls the shirt off and throws it in the hamper. ARC-950701 sneaks a look- because … _sweat. That's a thing humans do to reduce and regulate body temperature_ \- then just as quickly looks away, afraid of being caught.

“Classes were okay. Swimming in the middle helped with concentration. I haven't gone in a while and it was so hot outside, so it felt even better.” Jaehyun says.

The ARC sneaks another look. This time, Jaehyun catches him.

The conversation pauses.

Feeling a bit confused, ARC-950701 asks, “Aren't you going to put a shirt on?”

Jaehyun shrugs by way of reply.

“I thought nudity was-”

“I know I said that,” Jaehyun clears his throat awkwardly. “It's difficult to explain, but it can be acceptable when you are at home and in private company- that is, if the people present are people who wouldn't feel uncomfortable at your state of undress.”

Jaehyun eyes at the ARC. “Sorry, I should have asked. You don't mind, right?”

The ARC tilts his head in question. “Mind?”

“That’s- you don't feel uncomfortable, right?”

The ARC shakes his head, and Jaehyun smiles with a shrug.

“I just need to cool down. I'll put a shirt on in a bit.”

ARC-950701 nods.

They fall into another silence. The ARC feels Jaehyun’s gaze on him again and resists the urge to look back. Does Jaehyun want to say something?

“So,” Jaehyun starts. “Did you read any other books in the time I was gone?”

The ARC nods, then notices the look on Jaehyun’s face. “Why do you seem concerned?”

Jaehyun narrows his eyes, then clears his throat. “I'm not.”

Jaehyun isn’t being completely truthful, but the ARC doesn’t know how to formulate his next question, so he looks away. Jaehyun stares at him again, then, strangely, down at his feet.

“Do you know your foot size?”

The ARC looks at his own feet, then at Jaehyun’s, then up at his eyes. “Do you have a unit of measurement I can use?”

“Oh, right. Mine are typically 275.”

The ARC contemplates this for a second. “Then I would be around 265.”

Jaehyun looks at their feet again, then nods. “You can measure, then.”

It's strange to talk about himself in an objective way, especially when through it doesn’t happen with the interactions between Jaehyun and his friends, but he nods nonetheless. “Kun doesn’t seem to be wrong. I’m only starting to discover these capabilities myself, but they happen when I… think it.”

Like now. When he looks at Jaehyun’s hands and sees the lines of measurement drawn out- measurements of the unit he’s used before, projected with lines and ticker marks.

“Are there other units of measurements?”

“Many. There are so many, of everything, I don’t even know where to start.” Jaehyun smiles, settling across from him on the matted floor. “I’ll need to find you shoes and clothes that actually fit.”

The ARC tilts his head. “These clothes fit.” He says, gesturing to the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants.

Jaehyun raises a brow. “They're a bit big on you. And it’s better that you have your own clothes anyway, because as good as you look in mine-” Jaehyun’s eyes widen, then he blushes bright red. “I- I mean. Because they’d fit you better. Um.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, I’ll get you some shoes first, I think I saw a sale when I was coming back. We can start at that shop.”

Jaehyun moves to the dresser and pulls on a graphic t-shirt. The fabric wraps loosely around Jaehyun, but the shoulder seams align with his shoulders, and the bottom seam doesn’t pass his hips. ARC-950701 looks down at himself and sees the shoulder seams are a little off- the cuffs on these sweatpants are almost covering his feet. They do fit bigger on him.

“Do you have smaller clothes?”

“I can look. Hold on.” Jaehyun moves to his drawers.

“I can help- if you'd like.” ARC-950701 suggests, watching the growing pile of clothes on the ground with a raised brow.

"Do you have a colour preference?” Jaehyun looks back, tilting his head in question. The ARC feels a vague stirring somewhere under his chest, but clears his throat and brushes it off.

“I don't know. Just let me see?”

Like in the morning, Jaehyun moves aside as the ARC goes in, sifting neatly through his clothes until he finds a slim fit t-shirt and a pair of black jeans- they're a bit long, but they're also the best fit.

ARC-950701 looks at Jaehyun, expecting to be praised for not making a mess of the place, but the first thing Jaehyun said was:

“Black on black?”

Immediately, the words register to the visuals he's saved. Colour.

“They're the best fit.” The ARC explains.

Jaehyun smiles with a nod. “Let's go. I may need to ask you for a favour later.”

“What’s that?”

“Just- to help me with something.”

The ARC watches the other closely, then nods. “Okay.”

He peels off his shirt and pulls on- _Was that a sharp intake of breath?_ \- the fitted black t-shirt, feeling oddly accomplished for that action.

He's about to pull his- Jaehyun’s- sweatpants off when Jaehyun makes a noise, sounding oddly like he's being strangled, and he spins around this time to shoot Jaehyun with a look of confusion.

“What are you-”

_Oh._

No matter how far his neck twists, his ears are still in plain sight. Jaehyun is blushing.

Wordlessly, the ARC changes into the black jeans he’s picked out, and after a moment, tucks his shirt in to keep the pants from sliding off. He touches Jaehyun’s arm to get his attention.

“Let’s go.” He says.

It’s only then that Jaehyun catches a glimpse of him, blushes even harder, and quickly swipes his keys from the counter. “Wear my sandals for now.” He gestures to the holey shoes by the door. The ARC nods and obediently pulls the sandals on, before looking at him again.

There is a pause.

“You’re staring.” ARC-950701 points out unnecessarily.

“Sorry- I. You just. Look really good in my clothes.”

“It seems that I look good in a lot of your clothes.” The ARC comments wryly.

“Yeah. I guess. I never expected to share clothes with anyone else, for one.” Jaehyun clears his throat.

“Well, I’m ready, so let me know when you’re done staring.” The ARC replies, and his lips quirk into a teasing smile.

Jaehyun rolls his eyes. “I resent that. I’m sure that people would be staring regardless.”

The ARC tilts his head in question. “What do you mean?”

“...Nothing. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

•••

They head out together.

This is the ARC’s first time outdoors since he was turned on. As such, he walks with care in every step, taking in as much information as he can. The light breeze of wind, the colours of the afternoon sky, the smell of food from nearby apartment units.

For a while, they trail behind a teenage couple, likely students from the high school nearby. Their hands are clasped loosely between them, and the boy is talking excitedly about something while the girl nods and makes small commentary from pause to pause.

Jaehyun notices the ARC’s questioning gaze and slows his pace to keep out of earshot.

“You can tell they’re students- they’re wearing uniforms and it’s just about the end of the school day- 3:30 pm. They’re probably going on a date.” Jaehyun explains with a wistful smile.

The ARC shoots him a questioning look. “What is a date?”

“A date is when two or more people who like each other very much spend time together. Dates can be planned in advance or happen spontaneously, but the idea is to spend more time with that someone, or those someones, because you enjoy each other’s company a lot.” Jaehyun explains.

“Two or more people?”

“For a very long time, a socially acceptable relationship happened between a man and a woman, but things have changed since the 21st century. Now, relationships can be between all forms of gender, and between as many people as one desires, if and when all of those involved are aware and accepting of the relationship dynamics. It’s all about communicating what you want.”

“I see.” The ARC nods thoughtfully, then asks, “Are you currently in a relationship with one or more persons?”

Jaehyun looks a bit taken back by the bluntness of the question, but shakes his head. “No, neither fo those.”

The ARC grows quiet as he considers this. Finally, he asks, “What is liking someone very much?”

Jaehyun hums thoughtfully. “It’s what you feel when you spend time with someone you like, be it a family member, a friend, or a partner or partners. Biochemicals, in short. And specifically- endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine, and vasopressin. I’ll give you a book to read about that when we get home, given that you haven’t read about it yet- Oh, here we are.”

Jaehyun takes a short pause at the small clothing store around the corner of the street, where he picks up a pack of 5 ankle socks. They approach the scanner at the front, and Jaehyun waves his band under the red light. His wristband chirps pleasantly, and Jaehyun peels off the wrapping and hands a pair to the silver-haired ARC.

“Hold onto these.”

The ARC’s eyes are wide as dinner plates and Jaehyun chuckles.

“Question?”

“Questions.” The ARC corrects. “How does this work, exactly? Everyone has bands, I can see that. Is it a tracking device for your finances, location, and time? What else does it do?”

“A slew of other things.” Jaehyun explains vaguely, the corner of his mouth quirks.

The ARC almost scowls. Jaehyun barks out in laughter. “Be more specific.” The ARC says, a plea to his tone.

Jaehyun’s laughter simmers, the corners of his eyes crinkle in delight. “You're mostly right. They are in some ways your identity. You check in and out of locations with it. When you work and get paid, all credits go into your bank, which is also directly linked to this device. Banking details are protected; the government has no way of knowing your finances. But they can see when and where you spend, which, if you ask me, is already pretty dangerous knowledge.”

The Jaehyun reins it back a bit. “It also has the basic functions- tells the time, weather, climate and temperature, and contains a simple communication system to reach others.”

The ARC takes a while to digest this, but when he does, he frowns at the device. “This sounds invasive.”

Jaehyun nods, lost in his own thoughts too. Ability to formulate personal opinions and insights, check.

“My friends- the ones who came over yesterday- have manually altered this, filtering out only what's legal and playing it back into the system. We also have our own private connection, courtesy of Sicheng, so our conversations are not monitored.” He says in a lowered voice, body language casual despite admitting to something that is likely illegal.

The ARC makes a thoughtful sound, soft enough to match Jaehyun’s decibels. They reach a small intersection, and Jaehyun holds onto the ARC’s arm to stop him from walking into oncoming traffic.

Then the ARC switches the grip and holds Jaehyun’s hand in his, and Jaehyun meets grey eyes in surprise.

“Are ARCs also monitored?”

Jaehyun catches the tone in the ARC’s voice, and understands the underlying question- _Is he being monitored? Will what he remembers be used against himself, Jaehyun, or the others?_

Jaehyun shakes his head. “I’m not sure, to be honest. I can ask Sicheng to run a test on you and have Doyoung check out your hardware and see if there are any physical pieces that could be recording information without your knowledge.” Jaehyun catches the ARC’s fingers in his own and gives a light squeeze. “But you shouldn’t need to worry. As long as you stay on the right side of law and don’t do anything illegal, you'll be okay.”

Still, the ARC frowns and watches their connected hands for a moment. The ARC opens his mouth to speak, but lights change and Jaehyun lets go of his hand.

“C’mon. It’s about another two minutes from here.”

The ARC hurries across the street and catches up to Jaehyun again. He looks at the hands hanging by Jaehyun’s side, and then he looks back at his own hand.

_Warmth._

This isn’t the first time they’ve made contact. But the ARC doesn’t seem to know what to do with this information. Jaehyun’s hands are warm. But they _feel_ comforting, somehow. Why?

The ARC takes a breath, about to reach up for Jaehyun’s hand again to test his theory, when the other turns and enters the shoe store.

The ARC pauses by the door. It looks up the establishment, the bright neon lights and holographic window displays do a poor job to entice people to go in, as shown by how little patrons are actually inside. Sighing softly, the ARC also steps into the shop.

Jaehyun wipes the small beads of sweat from his forehead as he nears the Chuck Taylors display, picking up the classic colour and cut, and twists it this way and that. Then he looks over at the ARC, who is observing him with a curious gaze, but otherwise does nothing.

“Do you like these?” He asks.

The ARC slowly approaches the shoe and sniffs. Then, when he deems it safe, holds the shoe in both of his hands and flips it this way and that (the same way Jaehyun did), inspecting the details. He looks at Jaehyun’s observant gaze, then back at the shoe again.

“It’s black.” He says mildly.

“Much like everything else you’re wearing.” Jaehyun snorts. “Would you rather a different colour? Or a different shoe altogether?”

The ARC gazes around the store. “I'll take a look around.”

“Try to stay below 80 credits- they're listed here.” Jaehyun says, gesturing to the tag under the shoe display.

The ARC nods and goes off to explore on his own, and Jaehyun watches from a few paces behind. The ARC would twist the shoe this way and that, no doubt scanning the material and make for comfort, before putting it down and moving onto the next one. By the eighth shoe, he's gotten pretty quick at noting the information and makes his way through the aisles with impressive efficiency.

But it’s a big store, there are aisles upon aisles. So Jaehyun leaves the ARC to his devices, and looks for his own shoes. Now where was it…

Nike… Puma… Reebok...

Aha. The latest Adidas Boost- what the hell, puke yellow ochre?-

“Come on, I've never seen an ARC like you before-”

“Leave me alone.”

Jaehyun stills.

“Your controller isn't around. He won't even notice if you're gone for a few minutes.”

“I-”

Jaehyun whips his head around to locate the voices. Not even five minutes- for fuck’s sake. He breaks into a jog. _Silver hair, silver hair-_

“I don't need a controller to tell you to let go,” the ARC replies curtly.

Jaehyun sees them now- a man holding onto the wrist of his ARC, pinning him to the shelf. He’s around the ARC’s height, but his stocky build prevents the ARC from slipping away on either side. A nasty claw of anger curls around Jaehyun’s stomach as he stalks over-

The man leers. “Spunky, aren't you? What kind of personality system are you running? It must be based off of something-”

“Don't make me repeat myself,” the ARC hisses back, expression finally breaking into disgust.

“Hey-” Jaehyun interrupts. He reaches for the ARC’s other wrist and forcefully pulls him aside, putting himself between the two. “What are you doing?” He orders.

The man eyes between the ARC and Jaehyun, and snorts, letting go of the ARC’s wrist like tossing garbage. “Ah, there’s the guard dog. You know you shouldn’t let such pretty ARC’s wander on their own,” he sneers.

“It’s not a problem until someone thinks they’re entitled to every ARC they encounter.” Jaehyun shoots back, eyes narrowing.

The man puts his hands up in mock surrender. “It’s like you don’t even know how rare your ARC is. Don’t parade him if you’re not going to keep an eye on him.”

“Doesn't matter. He didn’t ask to be touched, did he?” Jaehyun raises a brow, raising to his full height and staring down at the older man. When he sees the fear flash in the man's eyes, shakes his head in disgust. “Let’s go.” He says, turning away.

But the ARC resists for a moment, his strength surprising Jaehyun when he tugs his arm back- still glaring daggers at the older man.

“Tae.” Jaehyun says in a low warning.

The ARC’s eyes narrow, nostrils flaring, but he eventually gives in and stalks off, pulling Jaehyun with him.

Jaehyun shoots one last warning look over his shoulder before following suit.

Jaehyun is angry. No one should go around touching what isn't theirs, but ARCS are more than that. And his ARC… Tae-yong. Taeyong is definitely more than that. He's an intelligent, sentient AI, he’s his own person. He shouldn't need to deal with this kind of attention. But if he needs to be protected from people who treat him like an object, thinking that it's okay to touch and dissect him without permission-

Jaehyun replays the situation in his head again, thinking of a way to prevent it from happening when the ARC suddenly stops, and he walks straight into him.

“Hey-?” He starts.

The ARC turns his bright grey eyes at Jaehyun.

“You called me Tae.”

Jaehyun draws back.

“Is that my name?”

“I-I.” Jaehyun stumbles, the previous anger and worry dissipate immediately. “It- um. I didn’t-”

The ARC takes a step closer, squeezing Jaehyun’s hand just a touch shy of pain.

“It really just came to me in a dream.” Jaehyun hesitates. “I know it sounds lame and all, but I saw you-”

A flash of the guarded, shadowed eyes of worry overlay on the ARC’s features, and Jaehyun blinks. _Whoa, afterimage._ The ARC in front of him frowns slightly, tilting his head in question.

“I saw you in my dream, and you told me your name was Taeyong.” Jaehyun pushes on. “But if you don’t like it, I can always research another name-”

“I like it.”

Taeyong meets his eyes squarely, a bright smile pulling at his lips.

“My name is Taeyong.”

 

They end up going to another shoe store- a block from the bigger one. They have less selection, but the ARC- _Taeyong_ , eventually chooses a pair of Nike Air Max. They’re a few seasons old, black and white, and priced at 69 credits. Taeyong immediately changes into the shoe right after Jaehyun scans and pays for it, a wide smile plastered on his face.

They’ve let go twice. Once when Taeyong tries on the shoes, needing both hands to adjust the laces and the second time when Jaehyun scans the code under the red light, and his wristband chimes as the credits transfer.

It’s for protection, Jaehyun tells himself, ignoring the possessive feelings that's coursing through his veins. But somewhere beneath, he knows what the man said was true. He feels bad for not knowing more- but there's no other way to learn more about the ARC besides spending time with him. It's like meeting a new person. You don't know who and how they are until you spend time with them.

To his credit, he’s doing his best. So that’s enough, right?

Jaehyun subconsciously squeezes Taeyong’s hand harder, until he feels reciprocation. Firm, consistent, almost like a reassurance. The ugly feeling in him dies down a little, and he lets out a sigh. Taeyong looks at him with a soft, concerned gaze and he shakes his head. They trek through the busy streets of the town and up a hill.

“Do you still remember how to get home from here?” He asks.

Taeyong nods wordlessly.

“Okay,” he replies, then pulls them along.

It’s about a 5 minute hike up, but once they arrive at the familiar French-inspired building, Taeyong nearly yanks Jaehyun’s arm from his socket, tugging him along as he inspects the old architecture. Jaehyun smiles.

“Be patient,” he chides without heat.

Taeyong turns to pin him with a deadpan look, and he laughs harder.

“I am very likely more patient than you,” Taeyong notes wryly.

“Yet to be seen,” Jaehyun teases. “Come on. I'll show you around.”

He opens the white metal gate and Taeyong follows him into the café.

There is a couple sitting by the windows, and the familiar silhouette of Johnny in the back, whose gaze immediately zooms into the silver-haired ARC. He straightens quickly and looks between the two with a question in his eyes. Jaehyun shakes his head, but waves back nonetheless.

“Taeyong, Johnny. Johnny, Taeyong.” He gestures between the two, then hops behind the counter. Taeyong is about to follow but he holds a hand out, stopping the other.

“Stay here, I need to change first.” Jaehyun says with a small smile towards Taeyong, then shoots Johnny a look of warning before going his way.

Johnny turns to Taeyong. “Johnny. Nice to meet you.” He extends a hand, and Taeyong looks at for a moment before mimicking his actions.

“Taeyong. Nice to meet you too.”

Johnny’s smile widen. “You have really beautiful eyes. I’ve never seen you around before. Are you new here?”

Taeyong, suddenly growing shy, nods slowly.

Johnny raises a brow. “What brings you around these parts? Just visiting?”

Taeyong shakes his head. “No, I live here.”

“Oh? Whereabouts?”

“With Jaehyun.”

Up goes Johnny’s other brow. Then he notices the clothes on Taeyong- doesn’t Jaehyun have similar-looking ones-? “Is that so. How did you and Jaehyun meet?”

“He found-”

“Shouldn’t you leave the interrogating to me, architect?” Jaehyun interrupts, wrapping the black apron around his middle as he steps out from the back room.

“I’m just trying to make a new friend.” Johnny says with a straight face.

Jaehyun levels him with a look until Johnny’s expression finally breaks into a smirk. He rolls his eyes and turn to Taeyong, whose attention has shifted around the small cafe, to the dessert fridge. He stares intently at the pink, white and red confectionary, then meets Jaehyun’s amused gaze.

“What's that?” He asks, pointing to the cake.

Johnny looks at him incredulously and Jaehyun walks over. “It's a cake.” He explains.

“It's… food?”

“Yeah. It's a kind of dessert. It's sweet, and people usually eat it as a snack or after a meal.” Jaehyun explains patiently. “I’ll show you around now.”

He pulls Taeyong behind the counter after shooting Johnny a well-intended look. Johnny smirks again and waves his hand. _It’s not what you think,_ he wants to say. But then again, he wants to see how long Johnny takes to figure out that Taeyong is in fact an ARC.

“It’s not a big space. Here’s the storage area.” Jaehyun waves to the numerous bags of coffee beans. “The employee room and bathroom- renovated to include a shower. Washing and drying machines. Central heating system with this controller-” He points at the controls on the wall. “And finally the front of the shop-” They emerge to the cafe again. “Where I make coffee and serve desserts.”

Taeyong nods, silently taking everything in.

Finally, Johnny catches a glimpse of the back of Taeyong’s neck and breathes in shocked understanding. “Where the hell, Jae?”

Jaehyun waves him off and pushes the ARC to in front of the well-loved espresso machine. The Optix beside the register scanner chimes and Johnny checks the order. “Iced latte to go, Jae."

Jaehyun nods. "Here, watch this.”

So he goes through the steps of grinding the beans, tamping the grind, letting the heated water flow through, frothing the barest milk- and finally, pouring it all into a biodegradable cup. When Taeyong asks a question, either he or Johnny explains the step in minute detail until the ARC is satisfied.

The cup of latte is placed on the counter where, two minutes later, a pink-haired boy comes in to pick it up. A taller, blonde boy follows in closely behind. They’re both wearing white shirts and dark green plaid slacks. Uniform. Students.

“Chenle, Jisung!” Johnny greets warmly. “How are you guys?”

“Enjoying the summer vacation, obviously.” Chenle’s cheery voice booms out. “How are you guys? Wait- I’ve never met you before!” Two pairs of eyes land on Taeyong, who subtly takes a small step behind Jaehyun.

“He’s Taeyong, my new ARC,” Jaehyun explains.

The two younger boys look shocked.

“Wait- you’re an ARC? But how!” Jisung exclaims loudly, then gets elbowed by Chenle.

“Stop being rude,” Chenle hisses with narrow eyes, then snaps back to Taeyong and smiles brightly in a second. “I’m Chenle. He’s Jisung. We’re high school students from Ando High. Nice to meet you!”

Taeyong instinctively reaches his hand out, and Chenle swooping his hand around Taeyong’s and shaking it enthusiastically.

“I’m Taeyong.”

Jisung gives a casual two-finger wave. “Yo.”

Which earns him another elbow to the stomach. “How many times, Jisung Park. Your manners,” Chenle warns.

Jisung clutches onto his stomach and feigns pain as Chenle and Johnny chat up a storm about the latest choreography from dance class. Taeyong looks towards Jaehyun a little helplessly, who chuckles and pulls him back.

“We all go to the same dance studio. Jisung here is especially good- he’s been landing solo dance performances and choreography contracts and he’s not even 18 years old.” The excitement and pride rolls off of Jaehyun so much that he even sports a one-dimpled smile.

“What is dance?” He asks.

Jisung’s eyebrows shoot up. “Did he just ask-”

“Jisung Park!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Jisung ducks as Chenle makes a move to grab him- he succeeds.

“I don’t know what to do with you sometimes!” Chenle complains loudly, flicking at Jisung’s arm that’s held captive in his tight grip.

“Uh-”

“Don’t even.” Chenle growls in warning. Jisung gulps.

Johnny chuckles and pats Chenle’s shoulder. “It’s fine. This is all a learning experience for Taeyong anyway, right?”

Taeyong stills when three pairs of eyes fall on him.

“I suppose so.” He nods hesitantly. But before the conversation goes anywhere else, Jaehyun strategically excuses he and Taeyong into the back room, where he hands over a big pack of roasted coffee beans to a visibly overwhelmed ARC.

“I don’t want to keep you at the cafe for hours while I work. It’s more comfortable at home.” Jaehyun says. “Also, if you could bring this back for me, it’d be really helpful.”

Taeyong nods slowly, taking the coffee beans with care.

Seeing Taeyong’s shell-shocked expression, Jaehyun chuckles and pets Taeyong’s hair. ”Don’t mind them. Chenle can be overwhelming at times, but he’s got a heart of gold. And Jisung, well, he’s a bit socially awkward, but he has Chenle to keep him in check, and pulls Chenle from the clouds all the time. They somehow work.” He explains with an easy grin.

Taeyong considers this for a moment, then asks, “Are Chenle and Jisung a couple?”

Jaehyun makes a thoughtful sound. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me.” He shrugs. “But they don’t need to be a couple to be bickering like this. Friends and family have these kinds of conversations too.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a bit crazy, but they’re great kids.” Jaehyun smiles. “Anyway, my shift is starting soon so I’ll have to work. I can walk you out.”

“Okay.”

“You know how to get home from here, right?”

Taeyong nods.

“Alright. Be safe. Remember to wait at the pedestrian lights.”

Taeyong nods again.

“And I’ll show you what dance is later, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jaehyun studies Taeyong for a moment longer, before going into his locker and pulling a black cap out. He walks to in front of Taeyong and carefully fits it around, covering most of his silver hair.

“I… want to think you can handle yourself, but I don’t want there to be any more problems when I’m not with you. You didn’t deserve that treatment in the shoe store. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.” Jaehyun inhales deeply. “But it doesn’t feel right that I keep you as a… helper. You’re capable, and I see you no less than an individual, despite asking you to bring things home for me.” He smiles wryly.

Not knowing how to respond, Taeyong nods.

Jaehyun studies Taeyong for a moment longer, before tilting his head to the door. “Let’s go.”

They move past the back room, through the cafe area, and end at the front garden by the gates. Jaehyun turns Taeyong to him with a hand on his arm. “Be safe, okay?”

Taeyong nods with a small smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll see you later.”

Taeyong takes a little over half an hour to get back. He keeps an upbeat pace, he waits at every intersection when the red pedestrian light flickers on. He’s still noting down all of the details, anything new that he can see, can sense, can hear. The small sparrows chirping. The scent of a newly cut lawn. The sun a touch too warm on his skin, but it doesn’t bother him, not the way it does Jaehyun, making him sweat. It’s the time when students are leaving school to go home, internet cafes, or (more often than not) cram schools.

When he finally passes the park at the front of the small building, he sees the furry animal again. It’s sitting on its hind legs and licking its chest and arm.

Taeyong grouches down and watches the animal intently.

Then it turns to him with wide lime eyes.

Taeyong stares back.

After a pause, the animal approaches Taeyong, walking on four legs, and stops a few paces in front of him, and makes a noise.

“Try offering your hand to her.” A soft, melodic voice suggests behind him.

Taeyong doesn’t look back, but he does as suggested and offers his hand. The cat approaches, sniffs him twice exactly, before slinking around his hand, rubbing her whiskers and cheeks against him.

“She likes to be scratched around her ears and under her chin.” The voice says.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Taeyong sees the flutter of pink white fabric in the wind and smells a soft floral scent in the air. A woman with long black hair and doe eyes crouch beside him, her lips curl into a beautiful smile.

“Her name is Pea.” She coos. The cat finishes marking Taeyong and moves to the woman, who extends her hand and the cat walks directly into it, well-practiced, deft fingers scratching the back of the cat’s ears.

“Pea?”

“Because of the colour of her eyes.” The woman supplies, eyes crinkling at the corners. “They’re kinda pea-coloured, sort of. Right?”

“They’re not… yellow though.”

“Not that kind of pee! I meant the beans… oh, you wouldn’t know, would you?” The woman smiles kindly, shaking her head. “A pea, spelled p-e-a, is the seed of some plants, often eaten by humans. The colour pea is like a lighter yellow-green. It’s like-” She looks around, then points to the oak tree. “Those leaves, but when the sunlight shines through.”

Taeyong turns to look at the leaves, then back at the woman, and nods. Meanwhile, the cat rolls into her back and paws at the woman’s hands, almost like nudging her to her exposed tummy.

“She really likes you.” Taeyong notes.

The woman laughs, bright and cheery.

“What’s your name?” She asks.

“I’m Taeyong.” He answers.

“I’m Stephanie. Nice to meet you, Taeyong.” She looks at him again, and he sees a warm familiarity in her brown eyes.

The cat rolls to her feet again and stalks off to under the shade, having gotten enough of belly scratches.

Stephanie stands and stretches her legs with a mighty sound of content. “I should go back. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“See you.” Taeyong echoes, a small smile tugging at his lips as he waves back.

He goes up the stairs and to the front door, then he realizes his dilemma.

He doesn’t have the keys.

He slowly steps back and around the building, looking up from the balcony side and eyeing at Jaehyun’s unit from the outside. There are no trees tall enough to reach that height, but the balcony below does provide a sort of footing but he’s not tall enough, and there are no ledges to grab onto…

He goes back up the front door and stares at the lock.

If only he could just-

He fiddles around with the door handle, looking for a latch or clasp. Is there anything at all?-

There’s a click, and the handle opens to a keypad that looks like it’s never been used, probably because it’s actually dated technology and Jaehyun, and the previous renters of the apartment, have never used it before.

At the bottom, carefully hidden, is a small port.

Taeyong reaches behind his neck and ejects the orange cord- then slots it in.

It’s not that he did it on purpose, but when Kun connected to him yesterday, it wasn’t a one-sided passage of information, Taeyong also had access to Kun’s memory, his data.

He didn’t look into it, he didn’t want to. But in that split second, he felt he could’ve broken all of the security systems to access Kun. Somehow, he knew the security measures were complicated, but a child’s play.

If he pushed further-

The door unlocks with a familiar chime, and he goes through the door frame.

•••

A breath.

A pause.

Wow, so that’s-

That’s a thing.


	5. 04

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When was the last time you went to the library?

****Jaehyun stares at the cakes in the display.

ARCs don't eat, Jaehyun knows this. But he remembers the pique of interest in Taeyong’s eyes, which renews his resolve. It might be entertaining a lost cause- Taeyong might not even like sweet things; but he _is_ curious about it…

Jaehyun stares at the cakes harder.

 _Something_ is compelling him to teach Taeyong about everything in this world. Maybe it’s because he feels responsible for the ARC, and bringing him up to date with the world will help the ARC help him. But a quieter voice in his mind reminds him of the way Taeyong’s grey eyes light up, face brightening into a genuine smile, and it becomes a pointless argument.

If it turns out that Taeyong doesn’t like cake, he’d at least get to eat the cake himself.

“You’re about to melt it with your eyes, Jae.” Johnny comments lightly as he wipes the counter.

“Physics doesn’t work that way, John.” Jaehyun shoots back. It's almost closing time, which explains why Key is there. The older man snorts beside him, carefully putting away a set of vintage tea cups.

Johnny raises an eyebrow. “Learn to recognize a figure of speech, Jae.”

“Learn to mind your own business, John.” He turns to Key. “Say, Key, mind if I-”

“Mm, just take it.” Key interrupts with a wave of his hand. Jaehyun grins.

“Thanks bos-Key.” Jaehyun bites back a smile when Key’s eyes narrow in warning. Johnny watches with half-lidded eyes as Jaehyun packs a slice of red velvet into a temperature-maintaining take out box, then slyly turns to Key.

“Say-”

“Just pack it up and get going.” Key rolls his eyes. Johnny gives a two finger thanks, and huddles up beside Jaehyun.

While Jaehyun has a renowned sweet tooth, it’s not often that Johnny would be this interested in desserts. But then again, most desserts aren’t made by Key who has a way with making food taste unimaginably delicious.

With their cakes packed safely away, the two say their goodbyes and bumble out of the cafe. The walk down the hill is attentive and slow; it would be unfortunate to destroy the perfect presentation of the cake, after all.

“It’s for Taeyong, isn’t it?” Johnny smirks, nodding at the package in Jaehyun’s hand.

Jaehyun keeps his face neutral. “ARC’s don’t eat.” He informs the other.

“Mhm. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited to go home before.” Johnny muses, not buying the excuse for even a second. Jaehyun deigns to give a response.

As they reach the bottom of the hill, Jaehyun calls over his shoulder, “See you in two days.” And without waiting for a reply, he hurries past the intersection, minding the precious package as he does. Johnny smiles at his back, shakes his head and waits for his bus by the stop.

It might be the cooling night air, or a kind of peaceful silence of nightfall, but Jaehyun walks with a small spring to his steps, a smile tugging at his lips. He almost leaps up the stairs, but remembers the cake and walks up carefully instead. The door senses his key within the vicinity and unlocks, and he pushes through.

His apartment is dark except for the blinking lights from the kitchen appliances.

Huh.

_Did Taeyong not-_

Jaehyun’s heart leaps. “Taeyong? Are you there?” He calls out anxiously, hand flicking the lights on.

There’s a soft shuffle somewhere under his unmade blankets, then a moment later, Taeyong’s silver head pops out.

For a second, neither of them speak.

“Hi.” Taeyong greets.

“...hi.” Jaehyun replies, a little breathless.

“Welcome home.”

“I- um. Thanks.”

Taeyong blinks, noticing Jaehyun’s enlarged pupils and out-of-breathiness.

“You seem… disgruntled,” he says, disentangling from the blankets. “Is everything alright?”

Jaehyun snaps out of whatever reverie he was in, shakes his head and clears his throat. “Yeah, um, I thought you weren't home. The lights were off.”

Taeyong turns to the light switch for a thoughtful second, then back to Jaehyun. His gaze is apologetic. “Sorry, I forgot to turn it on.”

Jaehyun shakes his head, relaxing. “It's fine, I probably just psyched myself out.”

Taeyong tilts his head in question.

“Scaring myself. It's a figure of speech. I thought something bad happened to you, and got… scared.” Jaehyun straightens, snapping himself out of this train of thought. Then he remembers the cake in his hold and lifts it up excitedly. “I have something for you.”

Jaehyun settles on the ground after grabbing two forks from the kitchen area, and waves for Taeyong to come closer. Taeyong perks up and crawls over, eyes curious. Jaehyun smiles to himself as he sets the box down. It opens and a perfect slice of red velvet comes to sight.

It is an earthy red, with a generous layer of icing on top.

“It's cake.” Taeyong notes softly, eyes bright.

“I thought you might want to try it.” Jaehyun smiles, handing a fork over.

Taeyong takes the proffered silverware and looks to Jaehyun for… oh. Jaehyun cuts a bite-size cake and extends his arm, nodding at Taeyong.

“Here, just try a bit.” He prompts.

Taeyong sniffs at the confectionery, looks at Jaehyun, who nudges the fork forward. His tongue pokes out and takes a lick. Then he frowns and takes the smallest bite, and contemplates on it. Jaehyun watches on with good-natured patience.

“It's sweet. And soft.” Taeyong says with slow elation, eyes bright and warmth. “I like it.”

A wide grin stretches across Jaehyun’s face, the corner of his eyes crinkle and small grooves of dimples appear on the sides of his cheeks. “Wow.” He exclaims in happy disbelief. “Wow I can't believe that just- you're. I don't know what to say. You can _taste._ I can't believe you can taste!”

Taeyong nods slowly.

“You- you're so. Here, have more.” Jaehyun cuts another bite-sized piece of cake and offers it to Taeyong, who eats it obediently and eagerly. “This is the red velvet cake, it's basically red-coloured chocolate cake, so the taste you're experiencing is called chocolate. The white stuff is cream cheese icing. It's nothing like the ones you get from most stores and even less so from replicators. Key makes them really well!” He scoops a bit of the cream onto the fork, isolating the taste, and feeds it to Taeyong, who shrinks back in surprise.

“You should have some too-” Taeyong starts.

“It's fine, I work there, so I have it all the time anyway.” Jaehyun reassures with a smile.

“But you bought it, so you must've wanted some too. Here.” Taeyong copies Jaehyun’s motion, slicing a perfectly sized cake and extends his fork.

Jaehyun stills, suddenly realizing that he’s been feeding Taeyong the entire time. “Uh. It's okay, I can do it myself-”

“But I already-” Taeyong protests, lifting the fork to eye level, his bottom lip jutting out slightly.

Jaehyun turns to look at the cake, then at Taeyong expectant expression, then gingerly takes the bite of cake. It’s flavour is rich and texture is soft and sticky, but he’s distracted by Taeyong’s expression, which changes from blankness to one of immense satisfaction.

“I've placed the bag of coffee beans where you put the older bag.” Taeyong notes conversationally as he cuts out another perfect square of cake and offers it to Jaehyun.

“You don’t need to keep feeding me, you know. I can do it myself.” Jaehyun says wryly, waving his fork to prove his point.

Taeyong pauses as he looks at the fork, then nods slowly. “Okay.”

There’s something in Taeyong’s expression that gives Jaehyun hesitation. “...Unless you want to.”

The small smile that blooms on Taeyong’s face triggers a soft fluttering beneath Jaehyun’s ribs- _has Taeyong always been this expressive?_ \- and shakes his head to snap out of his thoughts. “You were talking about the coffee?”

Taeyong nods. “I’ve put them in the cupboard, with the other bag,” he pauses, then adds: “I figured you’d like to keep the kitchen counter clean.”

Jaehyun shrugs. “While I’m not a stickler for cleanliness, I don’t mind it.” He takes another bite of the cake, which is now a small diamond shape. One bite, if that. Taeyong puts his fork down.

“I don’t actually know how I’ll react to the food, so I’ll stop here,” he explains. “But thank you. The cake- red velvet, was it?- it was delicious.”

Jaehyun nods with an air of realization. “Right, the reaction. I guess, let me know if you’re feeling sick or sluggish or, uh, different.”

Jaehyun finishes the rest of the cake in a quick bite and cleans up as Taeyong watches from the kitchen island. He finishes sorting the garbage before washing the forks, then tossing them on the drying rack. Finally, he moves into the bathroom to wash up, and Taeyong silently slinks by the door, following Jaehyun with big, curious eyes.

“Hm?” Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow as he brushes his teeth.

“What are your plans for tomorrow?” Taeyong asks.

Jaehyun gestures for Taeyong to wait a moment while he finishes brushing his teeth and reaches for the mouthwash and rinses quickly. He considers the bottle as he gurgles. When he’s done, he pours a little bit and gives it to Taeyong as well. “Just in case you can get a cavity.” He says, jiggling the small cup.

Taeyong frowns at the liquid, sniffing it, then wrinkles his nose in distaste. “Do I have to?”

“I’d rather not taking any chances. I’m not making you brush your teeth, so count yourself lucky.” Jaehyun says, biting back a smile.

Taeyong eyes at the coral blue liquid, before copying Jaehyun’s example and rinsing his mouth with it.

“Spit it out after 30 seconds.” Jaehyun instructs patiently, gesturing to the sink. Taeyong narrows his eyes, but does as he's told. When he straightens again, he casts a dirty look at Jaehyun and quickly scampers out of the bathroom… until he realizes he has nowhere to hide.

He looks balefully at the pile of blankets in one corner, then stalks off to the opposite side, and curls into a ball. Jaehyun watches on with a soft chuckle.

“Don't hold a grudge against me for caring about your dental health.” Jaehyun chides with no heat.

“It has yet to be proven that I am even capable of getting a cavity. I don't even know what that is.” Taeyong grumbles with a scowl on his face. Jaehyun snorts.

“Right. But if you have to visit the dentist, I'm not going with you.”

“I'm not a human, I can probably replace any part at an ARC manufacturer, or find a personalized technician shop.” Taeyong harrumphs and crosses his arms tightly around himself.

“And who, pray tell, will be paying for that?” Jaehyun shoots back, also crossing his arms. Taeyong narrows his eyes at the condescending tone.

“I'm plenty resourceful. Don't underestimate me.” He growls.

“Uh huh. Well, until you find a job, you're stuck with me, so you're playing by my rules.” Jaehyun says, finally approaching the ARC. He tousles the soft, silver hair and the look he gives to Taeyong is unexpectedly warm. “I know you're resourceful, but you can always come to me when you need something, okay?”

Taeyong regards him for a moment, then huffs again and turns away. Jaehyun sees an almost imperceptible nod, and grins.

“Good.” He says, running his fingers through the silver tresses again.

“I'm not a pet.” Taeyong mumbles, but he doesn't move.

The corner of Jaehyun’s lip quirks up. “I know. But still, thank you for listening to me.”

The conversation drifts off, so Jaehyun gives Taeyong a final pet before slipping into his futon. “I have a morning class and no work after, so I'll come back to pick you up, then we'll go to the library together.” He checks the alarm on the band, then adds, “Sicheng and Doyoung might join us.”

Taeyong perks up. “Library... that's where the books are, right?”

Jaehyun nods. “Lots and lots of books.”

“Is it the only place that contains books?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “There is also the internet, a 21st century invention that's since been revised to something more efficient and sophisticated. But not everyone has access to that, so libraries still serve a very important purpose.” He pauses mid-thought, then adds, “Plus, it would be too easy to destroy literature without a physical copy.”

Taeyong tilts his head. “The government- would they do that?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “Besides the fact that it's illegal, I'm sure the government doesn't have a reason to destroy books. Knowledge secures their position. But other agencies might.”

“Other agencies?”

“Uh… just. Bad people.”

“That are against the government?”

“Possibly.”

Taeyong grows silent, lost in his thoughts. Jaehyun watches quietly from his vantage point, wondering about this line of questioning.

“It's getting late. I'm going to sleep, okay?”

Taeyong takes a moment, then turns to Jaehyun and nods. “Good night, Jaehyun.”

“Night, Yong.”

•••

It's a quarter past noon when Jaehyun returns from his morning class. The sun is beating down hard, the strong glare drilling holes into his eyes. As he passes the front desk, he catches sight of the mailboxes, so he gives it a cursory check, sees nothing, and bounds up the stairs.

The door clicks open and he quietly slips into his apartment, grateful for the shade.

The lights are are off, but the blinds are drawn open. A tuft of silver hair pokes out from the bedding, and Jaehyun bites back a smile- Taeyong has huddled up in his blankets again. His eyes are closed, the light casts strong shadows of his long lashes on his cheekbones. His expression is peaceful.

“Had a good nap?” He says teasingly, just above a whisper.

Taeyong jumps up, startled. “Y-you’re back,” he stammers, then hastily collects himself and replies rather embarrassedly, “I don’t nap.”

“Perhaps not nap, but you definitely like to hide in my blankets.” Jaehyun calls over his shoulder as he peels off his shirt to wipe the residue sweat before throwing it in the hamper. It nearly tumbles out from the fullness.

“...yes.”

Jaehyun hums as he digs for another t-shirt. “Any particular reason why?”

“N-no.”

Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow and eyes at the blankets, then at Taeyong.

“Since when do you stutter?”

“... since now, I suppose.”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

Taeyong attempts a look of nonchalance. In response, Jaehyun purses his lips and pins Taeyong with a _look_ and raises an eyebrow slowly. After some time, Taeyong breaks the unofficial staring contest to look at a spot on the wall and clears his throat.

“It could be a nervous habit.”

The corners of Jaehyun’s mouth quirk up. “What have you got to be nervous about?”

Again, Taeyong doesn't reply. Then Jaehyun remembers a passage in a book about interrogation and more specifically, how stuttering relates to lying, and he grins slowly.

“You really like to read, don't you?”

“...I like to learn. By reading,” Taeyong replies evasively.

Jaehyun shakes his head in exasperation, and turns back to his dresser. “Of course.”

Taeyong doesn't know how to respond, so he just nods.

Finally, Jaehyun finds a loose light blue t-shirt and pulls it on before joining Taeyong on the floor. Taeyong sees him approach and pulls the blankets close around himself. Jaehyun pauses thoughtfully mid-step, then takes a seat beside the blanket fort.

“If I guess correctly, will you admit to it?”

Taeyong wrinkles his nose and pulls his lips tight around the corners. He nods curtly, so Jaehyun continues.

“It had residue warmth and made you feel safe.”

At Taeyong’s suspicious narrowed eyes, Jaehyun knows he's hit the nail right on the head and grins winningly.

“What gave it away?” Taeyong asks, miffed.

Jaehyun shrugs and replies rather simply, that Taeyong is a cat. Taeyong frowns.

“I’m really not a pet,” He repeats, indignant.

It doesn’t stop Jaehyun from smiling cheekily while carding his fingers through Taeyong’s hair, though. “I know.”

“Then why do you treat me like one?” Taeyong asks.

“I don't.” Comes the bemused response.

Taeyong’s round eyes narrow in suspicion at Jaehyun's outstretched hand like saying,  _Care to explain this?_

Jaehyun shrugs. “Does it bother you?”

Taeyong considers this, then shakes his head. The suspicion stays in his eyes. “No.”

Jaehyun studies Taeyong for a moment, then retracts his hand and shrugs. “It's a personal indulgence, I suppose.” He doesn't elaborate further (after all, admitting that he likes the feeling of Taeyong hair just isn't something he'd do), and changes the topic altogether. “We can grab a quick lunch in a bit, then head to the library.”

Taeyong hums. “Why in a bit?”

“Laundry time.” Jaehyun replies, pointing at the hamper. “Wanna come with?”

Taeyong glances at the hamper, then nods.

So Jaehyun collects his clothes, keys and Taeyong, and the two make their way to the neighbourhood laundromat. Taeyong watches in fascination as Jaehyun loads the machine, pops in a cleaning pod and closes the lid. He selects the standard wash and presses his band against the scanner.

The machine roars to life, and Taeyong watches it vibrate for a long, silent moment. “That’s it?”

Jaehyun nods. “Yep, the machine does the rest.”

“...this is the washing machine.”

“Laundry machine, it washes and dries.”

Taeyong raises an eyebrow. “How… apt, the name.”

Jaehyun shrugs, amused. “There’s no reason to complicate nomenclature,” he says, then waves Taeyong to the bench by the front.

They wait for about 15 minutes, through which Taeyong asks questions relating to the history of laundromats (“I have no idea,”), washing and drying machines (“Besides the fact that people used washer boards to do their laundry in the river, not a clue,”), and clothing detergent (“Something about animal fats being able to remove stains, so they're made into soap? Floral scents? I've only seen the Fight Club, not How It's Made- Soap,”).

In the end, Taeyong growls in frustration and Jaehyun develops a rather aggressive twitch on his left eyebrow.

“Why don't you know these things!” Taeyong complains hotly.

Jaehyun tugs the machine lid open and throws the clean laundry into the hamper with more force than strictly necessary. “Gee, I don't know. Maybe because it's never crossed my mind to find out? Why should I know these things!”

Taeyong mimics Jaehyun’s action of taking the laundry out, almost like a competition. He feels decidedly annoyed, and nearly rips a sock that's caught at the bottom. “It's a part of your everyday life! What if something goes wrong!”

Jaehyun turns his head to glare at Taeyong. “If one laundromat closes, I’ll go to another one. If one machine breaks, I'll use another one. If I run out of detergent-”

Taeyong harrumphs and works the sock from where it got stuck, and throws it into the hamper. “Avoiding the problem will not solve it.” He shoots back and, without waiting for Jaehyun, stalks stiffly out of the laundromat. Jaehyun chases after him, cumbered with the extra load he has to carry.

“Hey- wait for me.” Jaehyun shouts, wrapping his hand around Taeyong’s wrist and yanks. “Yong.”

Taeyong turns back with a fierce scowl of displeasure, and for a moment, Jaehyun forgets that he's speaking to an ARC, and not a real human.

“What?” Taeyong growls.

“Most humans don't have the same capacity to learn the way you do-” Jaehyun tries to explain.

“It shouldn't stop them!” Taeyong retorts back.

“God, this is so dumb.” Jaehyun screams in frustration, scrubbing his hair furiously with one hand.

“What does that mean! Do you even know?” Taeyong shouts.

“Of course I do! Dumb means not knowing! Or slow to learn or understand something!” Jaehyun shouts back.

“Well then, you're dumb!”

“No I'm not!”

“Yes you are!”

“No- god, we are _not arguing about this in public_ -”

“What is a ‘god’ and why do you keep saying it!”

“I-” Jaehyun takes a deep breath to calm himself. They're having a shouting match about  _laundry detergent_ and about to delve straight into religion in the middle of the street. “I'm not even going to answer that.”

As they approach the stairs of his apartment, Jaehyun quickens his steps to trigger the door lock. It opens with a soft click and Jaehyun tumbles in, a cloud of frustrated energy, while Taeyong, trailing behind and growing increasingly agitated.

“Is it because you don't know, because you're dumb?” Taeyong asks mockingly. His stance is ramrod straight, his eyes quicksilver.

Jaehyun takes another breath and sets his laundry down. He slowly turns to gives a warning look at Taeyong. “Look, there is absolutely no shame in not knowing something. There's too much to know, and every little thing takes lifetimes of dedicated study to unravel, to discover. You can't possibly learn everything there is to learn.”

Taeyong raises a challenging eyebrow, and Jaehyun cuts him off with a sharp wave of hand. “Most humans can’t. You’re different. Point is, there are lots of things _I_ don’t know, and it’s okay to not know everything.”

Taeyong’s nostrils flair, his lips are drawn into a tight line, but he takes one step back, and another, then pounces head-first into the blankets, burying himself.

Jaehyun groans and tilts his head down, arms akimbo, and counts to ten in his head.

He catches sight of the pile of fresh laundry, and gets an idea.

“Yong, come out,” he calls out.

“Why."

“Because I need help.”

“No.”

“C’mon, Yong. Come out and help me.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Yong.”

“Do I have to?” Jaehyun hears the crack in Taeyong’s resolve and crouches down beside the ball of blankets.

“Just help me, and we can talk about this.”

“But.”

“...”

“...”

“Yong.”

“ _Okay fine._ ”

Taeyong’s silver head peeks out from the blankets again, and Jaehyun bites back a smile. Even Taeyong’s miffed expression is adorable.

“What do you need help with?” Taeyong asks, tone full of suspicion.

“The folding?” Jaehyun gestures to the pile of clothes innocently. “You know how hopeless I am at it.”

Taeyong narrows his eyes. “I'm not doing all of it.”

Jaehyun raises his hands. “Of course, you're just helping me.”

“Right.”

“Right. Well.” Jaehyun looks around. “Here.”

Jaehyun starts from the top of the pile. A t-shirt. Three folds. A pair of shorts. One fold. He finds a sock, digs for another, and when Taeyong realizes what he's looking for, procures the sock in question in seconds.

Without prompt, Taeyong starts folding too. He's much faster and the folds are painstakingly ruler-straight, as Jaehyun expected. Soon, a pile of perfectly folded clothes form in front of him, while Jaehyun’s pile is considerably more dog-eared.

_To err is human, right?_

“We'll leave for the library-”  
“I'm sorry-”

Jaehyun blinks. Taeyong’s eyes are steadfastly downcast.

Jaehyun huffs softly. “I shouldn't have raised my voice either.”

“...”

“There are limitations to humans.” Jaehyun explains slowly. “It's not _impossible_ for a human to know many things about the world, but most are not like that. We develop curiosities, our interests narrow. It doesn't mean we don't care about everything else, but we need to pick our battles because our mental capacity and time on this earth are limited.”

Taeyong bites his lip and nods wordlessly. Jaehyun takes this as a sign to continue.

“You also have to understand that no one man is the same, even clones. What you know yourself to be, isn't always a good measuring stick against someone else. Everyone develops differently in different- or same situations; diversity is what keeps things interesting.”

Taeyong sighs. “I’m… starting to discover that for myself.” He says quietly.

Gently, Jaehyun raises his hand up between them, palm up, and Taeyong takes a moment before placing his hand on top, palm down. It feels weird to Taeyong, something tells him it feels like an old, primitive ritual, but he doesn't pull back. Jaehyun’s slightly larger hand wraps around his, steady and trusting, and Taeyong finally raises his eyes to meet Jaehyun’s gaze.

“How are you feeling?” Jaehyun asks softly.

“I'm okay.” Taeyong replies, voice just above a whisper. Jaehyun nods. “How about you?”

A thumb brushes against the back of Taeyong’s hand. “I'm okay too.”

“Then, lunch?”

“Mhm.”

Jaehyun puts away the clothes as Taeyong pulls on his new shoes, tying the laces with an immaculate efficiency Jaehyun has never seen before.

“What will you eat?”

“Ramen. It's soup noodles with toppings. You'll see when we get there.”

Taeyong directs a dubious look at Jaehyun, who has pulled his sneakers on and is waiting by the door

“Sometimes I really don't like waiting.” Taeyong mumbles, leaving the apartment.

“I wasn't aware of a time you actually enjoyed waiting.” Jaehyun says, wearing a good natured grin. “Turn right here-”

As they approach the intersection, Taeyong’s hand shoots out and grasps onto Jaehyun’s wrist in a gentle but firm grip.

Surprised, Jaehyun turns to see Taeyong staring at something between the boxes by the garbage collection station. He squints, the sunlight makes it hard to focus, and the box twitches. A tail slinks out, grey with a white tip, and Jaehyun has a strange feeling of deja-vu.

“It’s a stray kitten.” Jaehyun notes softly.

“Stray means that it doesn’t have a home?” Taeyong asks.

“Yeah. But this town is friendly, I always see people leaving out leftovers for strays, because they also help with catching rats. It’s not a problem now, but hundreds of years ago, vermin rats were a big problem. Cats helped to exterminate them.” Jaehyun explains, then shifts Taeyong’s hold from his wrist to his hand.

Surprised, Taeyong breaks his stare to look at their connected hands, then at Jaehyun.

“C’mon, I’m getting really hungry.” Jaehyun says with a small smile.

As they continue their walk, Taeyong spares one last glance at the boxes before turning to focus on his hand.

Then Jaehyun lets go.

“Can I-” Taeyong starts.

"Hm?”

Taeyong meets Jaehyun’s questioning gaze, then back at his hand. “Can we keep holding hands?”

Jaehyun stumbles. “W-what?”

Taeyong watches Jaehyun fluster for a moment, and reevaluates his question. _Maybe humans and ARCs not supposed to hold hands_. “Do only couples hold hands?” He asks.

Jaehyun sighs softly, but sticks his hand out in a _Well, come on_ motion and Taeyong brightens immediately, sliding their hands together.

“Do you feel safer this way?” Jaehyun asks.

Taeyong shakes his head, but a soft feeling bubbles from his chest. “No, but I like it. Is that okay?”

Jaehyun hums, and adjusts the hold so their fingers link. “It's more comfortable like this.” He explains, ears turning bright red. “It's okay. It's not a thing that only couples do. Close friends do, too. In fact, many people do it for different reasons.”

Jaehyun nods as he says this, like he's convincing himself. Taeyong makes a sound of acknowledgment.

“How much further is this restaurant?” Taeyong asks.

“Just a few more minutes that way.” Jaehyun says

There's an uncharacteristic lightness to Taeyong’s steps, but Jaehyun doesn't notice because he's too distracted with the soft, smooth hand in his. In the back of his mind, he hopes they don't run into someone he knows, like Johnny. Where to even begin explaining this...

Finally, they settle at the ramen restaurant. When Jaehyun receives his order, Taeyong’s senses are overwhelmed by the complicated mix of smells in the air; some strong, others subtle, combined to make a whole new experience.

But the way Jaehyun eats it is…

“These are… noodles, you say.” Taeyong says with a tone of incredulity.

Jaehyun takes a mighty big slurp, scallions, noodles, broth and all. “Tsuke-men. Don't hate it till you try it. Hold on.”

He scoops a bit of the broth, picks a short piece of ramen and adds a bit of minced garlic pork and half-boiled egg on the ladle before handing it over.

Then he stills. “Wait. You can eat, right? Did anything strange happen after the cake?”

Taeyong shakes his head almost urgently. The flavours are so close, and he wants to try so badly. Jaehyun notices the sparkle in his grey eyes and bites back a smile.

“Here.”

Taeyong moves to grab the ladle as Jaehyun pushes it closer to his lips. They freeze.

Jaehyun backtracks quickly, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “Um.”

Taeyong looks down at the ladle, then gently peels it out of Jaehyun’s tightened grip. As the brunette recollects himself, Taeyong slurps down the bite. His eyes widen. The texture of egg, meat, noodle and broth are instantly slotted into his inventory. The chemical compositions are broken down and sorted despite not knowing the correct labels.

He takes a long moment to appreciate the combination of flavours, and by the time he comes back to, he finds Jaehyun watching him intently.

"I saw a tonne of emotions, I think. That's a good thing right?” Jaehyun smiles.

Taeyong finishes the bite with a final lick off the ladle, then hands it back to Jaehyun.

“More.”

Jaehyun bites back a smirk. “Even if I make you rinse with mouthwash again?”

The look Taeyong gives is so full of contempt Jaehyun nearly laughs, but in the end he nods stiffly, and says with an unwavering voice, “More.”

So Jaehyun asks for a second spoon and chopsticks, and proceeds to teach Taeyong of the new food, smells, and flavours.

Taeyong was hesitant to ask questions at first, but when Jaehyun answers with sound knowledge and confidence, Taeyong’s curiosity grows. Jaehyun explains the steps to make the broth, the different ingredients and where they come from, and how when the ingredients are combined, a deeper umami flavour is created, giving the broth more layers of interest. He also goes into further detail with how the Japanese style cha-siu is sous vide before being torched, and the effect those steps have on the texture and taste.

Jaehyun takes big slurps of noodles between pauses, soup splattering everywhere. Taeyong wrinkles his nose.

Ten minutes later, Taeyong gazes at the empty bowl for a long moment, then back at a grinning Jaehyun, who is happily petting his belly.

“How often do you have ramen?”

“Only when I want to treat myself. This stuff ain’t cheap when you’re on a student budget. But it’s so delicious I can’t help but come back for more.” Jaehyun says.

Taeyong studies his expression with a calculative look, then turns away. “Then- have you made ramen before?”

“Sort of. My mom taught me, many years ago.” Comes the wistful response.

“Ah.”

Right. Humans have parents.

“How is she doing?”

“She’s alright. She’s with my grandma, taking care of her because she’s getting older and needs help around the house.” Jaehyun replies, a small smile tugging at his lips.

It’s slight, but Taeyong notices a slight shift in mood.

“Do you go back to visit often?” He pushes.

“Every summer, when I’m not in school, I’m back home with them.” Jaehyun grins. But it’s too lazy. Jaehyun never grins like that. He must’ve asked something that makes Jaehyun uncomfortable, then.

Taeyong breaks their gaze, looking down at his palms.

For a while, they say nothing.

Jaehyun studies Taeyong. He has nothing against sharing. What interests him is the way Taeyong picks up on his mood is- it’s more human than human, if that makes sense. Taeyong knows and exercises sympathy.

_But... how?_

Jaehyun clears his throat, and Taeyong looks up from his hands. “Let’s settle the bill and go to the library.” He suggests, pushing his thoughts aside.

Taeyong nods wordlessly and soon, they exit the establishment and make their way to the library, a 4-story building near the centre of the town ten minutes away from the restaurant. Jaehyun taps his band and enters without a thought, but Taeyong lags behind. He eyes at the turnstile curiously, feeling the ledge of on the sensor.

It clicks open after a pause.

Taeyong walks in.

And stills. In front of him are shelves upon endless shelves of books. His eyes widen, and his fingers twitch at his sides.

His legs go on autopilot, navigating him through the shelves as he learns the sorting system, the labels, the topics and authors and titles. There’s just so _much_ to see.

History… Geography… Religion... Politics… SocioEconomics…

Taeyong’s heart races.

A handful of minutes later, Jaehyun is jogging through the shelves, blushing lightly when he realizes he’s forgotten his ARC _again_ , who is probably waiting by the gates. His brown hair tosses about as he hurries down the stairs- until something silver flashes in his peripheral.

Taeyong has collected an impressive pile of books, and is literally scanning through each page in seconds. He’s halfway through the first one- looking to be about 500 pages long. _Guns, Germ and Steel, huh?_ Jaehyun blinks, pausing, before coming up behind his ARC.

“Slow down, speed racer,” Jaehyun mutters softly.

Taeyong makes a vague sound of acknowledgment, like to placate Jaehyun, but his eyes don’t stray from the book in front of him.

Jaehyun snorts. “Sheesh, this is what I get for bringing you to a treasure trove of knowledge?” Jaehyun says wryly. “I’ll be on one of the computers if you need me.” His thumb points to the computers at the standing desks nearby, and Taeyong hums and spares one glance in the direction before returning to his reading.

Jaehyun shakes his head with a smile.

For about an hour of uninterrupted focus, Jaehyun finishes some class reading, gets a head start on a research paper, and finds out ARCs can't get cavity. Doyoung, Sicheng have joined somewhere in between, and laughed in his face when Jaehyun suggests such an absurd idea. The dirty looks were promptly ignored by Sicheng and Jaehyun, but Doyoung taps both of their foreheads in warning, and they all duck down to pretend to read.

“ARCs aren't made of organic, decomposable materials.” Sicheng whispers, laughter twinkling in his eyes.

“I _know_ that.” Jaehyun mutters under his breath. “But Taeyong eats. He can taste. He would've eaten my ramen if I wasn't there.”

Jaehyun has his face in his notes, so he doesn't see the worried look Sicheng and Doyoung shoot at each other.

“You know, an eating ARC is probably the least of your worries right now.” Sicheng starts slowly.

“Someone could be looking for him.” Doyoung reiterates.

“Have we not gone over this? It looked like a murder scene when I found him. He was clearly thrown out.” Jaehyun hisses quietly.

“It's just, ARCs don't eat, typically. I've never even come across one that does, and that's me you're talking to.” Doyoung points out.

Sicheng clears his throat loudly, and both Kun and Jungwoo turn to give warning looks at Doyoung, who shrugs nonchalantly.

“Kun and Jungwoo are as off-the-record as they possibly can.” He reminds with a roll of eyes.

“I’d like to enjoy life not behind bars, thanks.” Sicheng mutters.

“Where is he now?” Doyoung asks.

Jaehyun points his thumb to somewhere behind. “You can't see him. He's literally behind a pile of books so high I worry that it'll topple over and crush him.”

Doyoung and Sicheng turn their heads in unison, and sees Taeyong diligently putting back the books he's finished.

“He read that much already?” Sicheng whispers in disbelief.

“This isn't his first trip putting books back, coming across even _more_ and bringing them to the table.” Jaehyun sighs. “I think I've created a monster.”

Doyoung snorts. “Au contraire, he needs to learn somehow. This is the most cost efficient and low risk way.”

“Oh, you speak French now?” Jaehyun rolls his eyes.

Sicheng’s band buzzes and flickers, and he jumps to his feet. “Be right back.” He says hurriedly, and makes a beeline for the library doors.

“I would ask, but I have a feeling…” Jaehyun trails.

“Yeah, it’s probably him.”

Sicheng returns a moment later with a lean, built, beautiful ash-blond man seemingly connected to his hip. The glare Sicheng shoots at Doyoung and Jaehyun’s knowing grins is enough to stop them from making any comments. Still, it’s cute.

“Hey guys!” Yuta greets with a bright, warm smile.

“Hey.” Jaehyun replies.

“Yo.” Doyoung chimes in.

They don’t even ask why he’s here anymore. Ever since Yuta and Sicheng met at a mutual friend’s party, Yuta’s made the effort to see Sicheng as much as possible which, apparently, is a lot. Sicheng was annoyed at first, he’s never had to deal with such a sticky person before, but grew to tolerate the older man.

Despite his mature appearance, Yuta is still a student. Four years of business school isn't enough to find a job, thanks to academic inflation. So he's getting his masters in Communications while working part time as a writer. Nobody knows what he writes about, and he never elaborates.

“I’ll be here for at least another hour or so.” Sicheng quietly informs the other, who nods readily and pulls out his notebook.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll keep myself busy until then.” Yuta replies. Sicheng looks at him doubtfully, then returns to his books.

Jaehyun and Doyoung meets eyes above their textbooks, sharing secret smiles that Sicheng sighs loudly to, and there is peace and quiet again.

It's dusk when they wrap up at the library. Jaehyun waits by the shelves as Taeyong puts away the last pile of books. Doyoung, Sicheng and Yuta are making a quick trip to the bathroom, and the two groups agree to meet back at the entrance.

Jaehyun leans against the shelf as Taeyong looks for the exact location where he should slot his book in.

“How many?” Jaehyun asks with a teasing smile.

“76.” Taeyong answers without a pause. Jaehyun freezes.

“What.”

“76.” Taeyong repeats, and Jaehyun blinks.

“All nonfiction?”

“What's nonfiction?” Taeyong asks. He runs his fingers along the spines of the books, then finally finds the spot and slides the book in with a satisfying swoosh and click. It makes him smile. His eyes also seem very far away, like he’s still processing the knowledge and perspective.

Drunk on knowledge? That's a first.

“Well. Fiction is make-believe. Traditionally in forms of novels, short stories, children's books, and comics. Nonfiction is everything else.” Jaehyun collects his answer with care. “But then again, nonfiction can be unproven, false theories on things that may or may not exist- oh gees, what am I saying? Nevermind, that was a bad question.”

Taeyong shoots a questioning glance at Jaehyun, who chuckles sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. “They're all nonfiction then, if I understand you correctly.” He answers. There's a hint of a smirk that Jaehyun knows is about him, but he lets it slide.

“Well alright then.” He surmises. “Let's go?”

Taeyong nods.

As they leave the front doors, Taeyong looks up at the tall building, and catches Jaehyun’s sleeve between his fingers.

“Can I come here when you're in school?” He asks, sweeping his liquid silver eyes onto Jaehyun. _He's... cute when he's excited._

Jaehyun clears his throat, but ends up tripping over his tongue anyway. “S-sure.” Then he considers the idea and pauses. “Actually, hold onto that- hey, Doyoung?”

The man in question is currently plucking a pouty Jungwoo from his shoulder back into his bag. “What?”

Kun quickly jumps on Doyoung's arm and tries to yank his friend back. “C’mon just let us play a bit more!”

Doyoung meets Sicheng’s eyes, who shrugs back. He's got Yuta to deal with. Doyoung sighs and let's go of Jungwoo’s little clothes. “5 minutes.” He says with a stern tone, and is promptly ignored by the two mini-ARCs who cheer and go back to their play-fight swinging around Sicheng and Doyoung.

Jaehyun almost laughs, but he’s about to ask for a favour. “Would you like to make a pair of bands for Taeyong and I?”

Doyoung raises one eyebrow. “I hope you’re not implying what I think you’re implying.”

Jaehyun huffs. “We can talk about that another time. Just say yes for now?”

Doyoung crosses his arms and levels Jaehyun with an unimpressed look. “Sometimes, you really lack the foresight-”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes at the nagging. “I'm pretty sure we're at least on par with that. Taeyong wants to visit the library on his own time, and I think it's a fair request.” He reasons.

Doyoung rolls his eyes and plucks Jaehyun’s hand off. “Save it. Just tell me what you need specifically.”

“Location and communication, mostly. I’m not sure what else we’ll need.” Jaehyun says.

“I can provide the systems,” Sicheng offers. Yuta peers from around the other side of Sicheng to the silver-haired ARC that’s trailing beside Jaehyun.

“This must be Taeyong,” Yuta says, extending his hand. “I’m Yuta. Nice to meet you.”

Taeyong shakes the slender hand with a firm grip. “Likewise.”

Taeyong is about to step away, but Yuta doesn’t let go. He hasn’t moved, his gaze stays fixated on Taeyong’s face.

“You have really captivating eyes.” Yuta grins. There’s an edge of challenge to his eyes. “Sicheng said you did a number on Kun.”

Taeyong flinches back.

“Yuta.” Sicheng interrupts in a warning tone.  
“Hey-” Jaehyun moves to step between the two.

“Yeah. I did.” Taeyong bites his lip and turns to Sicheng. “I’m really sorry. I… I didn’t know what happened, but I’m doing my best to learn so it won’t happen again.”

Sicheng freezes, taken back by the intensity of Taeyong’s gaze and severity of his tone. “Um, it’s okay. I know it was an accident. No hard feelings.”

“And I’m good as new now!” A voice pipes in from Sicheng’s shoulder. Kun has his arms akimbo, glaring daggers at Yuta. “Yuta, stop being such a jerk.”

“Just wanted to clear the air before we become best friends.” Yuta replies airily. Taeyong gazes at him, then blinks and nods.

“It was a good idea, thank you.” He says.

Yuta grins and links their arms together. “No problem, Taeyong.”

It takes a moment, but Taeyong returns his smile with a small one of his own, and a swift nod.

Sicheng groans and palms his face. “It’s really okay, Taeyong. You can ignore him if you want.”

“Why would he ignore me? Taeyong is so pretty and so nice. We’ll be best friends in no time!” Yuta exclaims loudly, face bright and cheery again. “Hey, Taeyong. Is it okay if I call you Yong? So, what can you do, really? What have you learned?”

“...Yong is alright, I suppose.” Taeyong replies after a pause. “I can walk, and I can learn. That’s all I know that I can do. As for what I’ve learned-”

And Taeyong goes off, unleashing all of the things he’s learned, cover to cover, shelf to shelf, on the poor, unsuspecting Yuta.

Neither of them notice a scowling Jaehyun lurking behind them. But Doyoung does, and he hangs back a bit. Jungwoo’s sitting on Yuta’s shoulder now, Kun on the other, likely put there to break up any situation. Sicheng is on one side of Yuta, keeping a watchful gaze on the Japanese boy.

“A hat would probably be a good place to start.” Doyoung comments quietly. “He’s too… you-know.”

“I know.” Jaehyun mumbles. His eyes have not averted from Yuta and Taeyong’s linked arms.

Doyoung pauses, following his gaze. “So you're really going to let him do his own thing when you're out?”

“He asked for it.” Jaehyun replies distractedly.

“Even if you're alerted, it'll still take about 20 minutes via the cab to get back here from school,” informs Doyoung.

“I'm more optimistic than I should be… but it's what he wants.” Jaehyun repeats with a soft sigh. Finally, he looks away and brushes his hair back. “Sicheng will have geo-tagging and security systems, right?”

Doyoung's mouth pulls into a sly smile. “Who do you think you're talking to?”

Jaehyun also smiles. “Knew I could count on you.” He claps on Doyoung's shoulder with a chuckle.

Taeyong looks back at the sound, and catches Jaehyun swinging an arm around Doyoung's shoulder, pulling him close as they chat, and nearly trips over his feet.

“Whoa, you okay?” Yuta catches him and pulls him upright in a smooth motion.

“I'm okay. Thank you.”

“So what were we talking about? Right! What do you mean you can eat?”

“That I… can. I can distinguish taste and smell. I'm not sure how organic materials are broken down, but I haven't gotten an upset stomach yet.” Taeyong explains slowly.

“Then you must've tried Jaehyun’s cooking, right?” Sicheng pipes in.

Taeyong blinks. “Do you mean coffee?”

“No, like actual cooking- hey Jaehyun! Have you not cooked for Taeyong yet?” Sicheng shouts back.

Jaehyun rolls his eyes. “I literally only just found out he could eat yesterday.”

“Not an excuse.” Yuta clicks his tongue, wiggling his finger behind him.

“Alright, let's have dinner at Jaehyun’s then!” Sicheng announces. Yuta and Doyoung nod excitedly in agreement.

“I'm down!” Says Doyoung.

“Guys, I have nothing to cook with-” Jaehyun begins to protest.

“We’ll get groceries. Let's go!”

An hour later, they’re squeezed inside Jaehyun’s small apartment kitchen, trying to chop and measure and pour and making a general nuisance of themselves. So Jaehyun pushes everyone out into his living area, telling them to keep themselves busy while he figures it out. It’s one thing to cook, and another thing to cook for so many people.

When he finally has some peace and quiet, Jaehyun starts the ingredient preparation, and his mind wanders back to Yuta. Jaehyun slams the fridge door harder than necessary when he remembers Yuta blatantly guilting, then linking their arms together immediately after, like they’re _close_ or something...

“Go play a game or something.” Jaehyun orders.

“Do you still have the big old Optix screen?” Sicheng asks.

“Yeah, it’s behind the closet.” Jaehyun replies.

“Oh! Got it.” Doyoung says after a pause of digging around. They prop it up against a wall and Doyoung plugs Jungwoo in. Within moments, projected 3d render of Doyoung and Yuta’s characters begin exploring a town that’s overrun by zombies.

Taeyong tries to get into the game, but when he looks over to Jaehyun, there’s a slight tenseness to his expression that Taeyong’s never seen before. It worries him.

“Is everything okay?” Taeyong asks, approaching the taller man.

“Just peachy.” Comes the curt answer.

Taeyong frowns at the expression. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can help you with?”

“I-” Jaehyun catches Taeyong’s concerned expression, and whatever he was about to say dies in his throat. Instead, he quietly mutters, “Here. I’ll teach you.”

Taeyong comes to his side as he pulls out a chopping board and knife.

“This side is sharp. This side isn’t. We cut with the sharp side, like this.” Jaehyun demonstrates a clean cut, halving the tomato. “Fold your fingers in like this so nothing gets nicked by accident. Press firmly against the food, but not so hard that you bruise it.”

Jaehyun deftly cuts the rest of the tomato with practiced motions. Taeyong watches with rapt attention.

“Wanna try it out?”

Jaehyun hands the knife over to Taeyong’s open hand, and gently adjusts his hold for better strength and control.

“Fold your fingers around. You don’t want anything to accidentally slip.” Jaehyun instructs. “Then take the tomato with your other hand and- hold on, it feels awkward I know.” He wraps his other hand around Taeyong’s pressing the tomato against the chopping board, and brings both hands together to make the first cut.

Taeyong feels the closeness of Jaehyun’s body against his and stills.

“This is the feeling you want.” Jaehyun mutters beside his ear, low and soft.

The skin of the tomato breaks from the sharp edge of the knife, and the rest of the fruit is cut cleanly in half.

The warmth and steady pressure of Jaehyun’s hands over Taeyong’s is… while not unwelcoming, sparks the same soft, fluttering feeling he’s had before, when they held hands. Taeyong blushes hotly and takes a leans forward, exhaling a quiet breath.

Jaehyun realizes their proximity and steps back quickly. He clears his throat and says, “Cut the tomatoes into blocks, just like what I did. We’ll be using them for the pasta sauce. After that, I’ll teach you how to cut the onions,” he says, pointing at the two golden orbs on the counter.

Taeyong does as he’s told; quickly, cleanly, efficiently. So by the time they get to the onions, Jaehyun doesn’t think twice to pause chopping up some Korean pears for the salad, and help Taeyong with the onions.

“Jae? I think my vision is blurring.” Taeyong says, fear creeping into his voice. He covers his eyes with his arms, suddenly afraid.

“What?”

Yuta, Sicheng and Doyoung peer over as Jaehyun drops his knife and comes to Taeyong’s side in an instant.

“I don’t… it feels weird.” Taeyong explains. “My nose feels weird too.”

Jaehyun peels Taeyong’s arm back before taking a look, then he barks out in laughter. “Yong, just blink.”

And that’s when they find out Taeyong has functional tear ducts.

“Alright, take a break. I can finish up here.” Jaehyun says with a chuckle, gently peeling the knife from Taeyong and setting it down.

“But I can still help-” Taeyong objects.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get someone else,” Jaehyun says good-naturedly. He nudges Sicheng to collect Taeyong before he has a chance to protest.

“I’ll help.” Sicheng calls out over his shoulder. “I'm just watching them game anyway.”

“I'll help too!” Yuta immediately volunteers.

“No you won't. We're just getting to the good part!” Doyoung complains, pulling Yuta back.

Yuta laughs and sits back down. “Okay fine, I'm not gonna help then.”

The spaghetti bubbles in the pot.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jaehyun reassures, removing the pasta from the heat and running it through cold water. “Sicheng, can you finish up with the onions and blend the basil with the olive oil? I just need to make the salad, and combine everything for the pasta.”

“On it!”

Taeyong watches them from the pile of blankets. Sicheng chops the head of lettuce easily, and Jaehyun makes a backhanded compliment that he’s not completely useless in the kitchen, to which Sicheng replies that if Jaehyun wants to keep his fingers before the evening is over, he’d better keep his comments to himself.

Taeyong narrows his eyes.

Just then, the zombies in the game make a particularly ferocious roar and Taeyong shrinks further into the blankets.

Eventually, the small apartment begins to smell like basil tomato sauce, then Jaehyun adds the mushrooms, chorizo and spaghetti.

In another hour, five plates are set out on the floor, two with generous servings of the pasta, two with a normal amount, and one with a wee handful.

Jaehyun approaches the bedding and pets Taeyong’s head through the covers. “Hey, do you want to try some?”

Taeyong ignores him.

“Yongie, c’mon, the food is great!” Yuta calls out. He bounds over and rolls on the blankets, much like an excited puppy. Jaehyun shouts and falls backwards, but Yuta pays him no mind. He digs into the blankets and forms a big lump with Taeyong. Jaehyun looks at Sicheng, who shrugs in return.

After some wiggling and soft muttering, Yuta peels the blankets back and Taeyong crawls out behind him.

“He’ll have a bit.” Yuta grins widely.

Doyoung pumps his fists in the air and shouts an enthusiastic _Thanks for the food!_ before digging in. Beside Jaehyun, Sicheng does the same. But Jaehyun has his eyes trained onto Taeyong, who shoots him a quick, half-smile before sitting beside Yuta. Yuta twirls a single spaghetti around his fork and puts it in front of Taeyong’s mouth.

“He has his own plate-” Jaehyun starts, but Taeyong’s already leaning into the bite, warm grey eyes trained on Yuta.

“Taeyong likes to be fed though, doesn’t he?” Yuta coos.

Taeyong quickly glances at Jaehyun and looks away again, then nods. He smells the pasta, then slowly takes a bite.

“This is so good!” Doyoung compliments with his mouth full.

“Yeah, this is really good.” Sicheng pipes in. “Why don’t you do this more often?”

“I don’t mind cooking if I don’t need to get the ingredients.” Jaehyun shrugs. He looks at Taeyong expectantly. “What do you think, Yong?”

Taeyong takes a moment to assess the taste, but he nods at the end and shyly says, “It’s good.”

Jaehyun makes a show of widening his eyes in surprise. “Only ‘good’? I worked hard for this!”

“Fishing for compliments? That’s not like you.” Doyoung sneers, pointing his fork at Jaehyun.

“You can stop eating if you don’t like my food.” Jaehyun banters, ignoring the fork and reaching past Sicheng for Doyoung’s plate, who pulls it away quickly.

“Never! I paid for this.” Doyoung wraps a hand protectively around his food and takes a big bite to prove his point.

“Dude, I’m trying to eat here.” Sicheng complains, swatting at his friends.

As they bicker away, Yuta hands Taeyong his dish, a small pile of pasta plated in the middle. Taeyong starts to twirl his fork when Yuta shoves something in his face. Jaehyun frowns.

“Yong, this is chorizo, it’s a spicy sausage. Try it.” Yuta says excitedly.

Taeyong takes a bite.

“What is spicy?” Taeyong asks between chews.

“Well,” Yuta pauses.

“Pretty sure they’ve made spicy the 6th basic flavour by now.” Doyoung interjects.

“It’s really the feeling you get when you eat something that you’re not supposed to eat.” Jaehyun explains stiffly. “When you eat something spicy, the taste buds on your tongue will send signals to your brain telling you your taste buds are dying, and that you should probably stop eating it. The feeling is hard to explain. It’s almost like a sharp stinging pain, and various degrees of spicy can make you sweat and salivate. But this chorizo should be mild enough to not trigger those symptoms, and anything in moderation _should_ be okay to eat.”

Four pairs of eyes blink at him.

“What?”

“Okay there Mr. Know-it-all.” Yuta snorts.  
“Dude, rein it in.” The corners of Doyoung’s mouth quirk up.

“I was just trying to explain _-_ ugh. I’m never cooking for you guys again.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes and tucks himself closer around his pasta.

The teases pour in, but Jaehyun ignores everyone and finishes the rest of his pasta quickly.

He bears the conversations with small smiles and pleasantries, but there’s a shift in the air the urges Sicheng to leave soon after dinner. Yuta announces that he’ll be leaving too, to no one’s surprise. Doyoung offers to help with the dishes, but Jaehyun shakes his head firmly.

“Then, walk me out?” Doyoung suggests, giving Jaehyun a meaningful look.

Jaehyun looks over his shoulder to Taeyong, who eyes at the pile of dirty dishes with interest.

“Yong, don’t worry about those. I’ll do it when I come back.” Jaehyun calls, then slips out after Doyoung.

When they’ve reached the bottom of the stairs, Doyoung turns to Jaehyun with one quirked eyebrow, and crosses his arms.

Jaehyun looks away. “What’s up?”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” Doyoung asks.

Jaehyun sighs, brushing his hair back in frustration. “I don’t know what got over me.”

Doyoung studies Jaehyun’s face for a moment, before nudging him with his shoulder. “I know it’s tough to care for an ARC, especially if it’s your first. But Taeyong isn’t a child, he doesn’t break that easily.”

Jaehyun sighs angrily. “Easy for you to say. He was harassed by a complete stranger the first time we went out. That’s one to many.”

Doyoung snorts. “Yeah, and we’re your _friends_. Do you think we’ll intentionally harm Taeyong?”

Jaehyun grows silent.

“Maybe I just don’t like Yuta getting too close to him, then.” Jaehyun reasons, voice dropping to a low mutter. “Taeyong isn’t vocal enough to say when he’s feeling uncomfortable-”

Doyoung rolls his eyes. “Taeyong is his own person, don’t be so quick to make the calls for him. Respect his space.”

Jaehyun bites back the very obvious remark, but he can’t fault Doyoung, because it’s true.

The more time he spends in Taeyong’s company, the more relaxed he becomes. Sure, they have their disagreements, but Taeyong is behaving like any human would. He’s already proven, on many occasions, that he can assess a situation with a level head and make the best judgment. Except for when he doesn’t know that he’s making a social faux-pas.

He’s also taking initiative to learn on his own, something that he does so _naturally_ it confuses and impresses Jaehyun on equal counts.

“I guess… I’ll work on it.” Jaehyun concedes. He shoots Doyoung a wry smile, who returns one of his own. Doyoung pats Jaehyun’s arm comfortingly.

“I’ll have a band for you tomorrow, okay? Until then, trust that Taeyong can handle his own, and tone down your jealousy.”

Jaehyun sputters, redness quickly blooming on his cheeks. “W-what-who?”

Doyoung sighs and turns away. “You played straight into Yuta’s hands, you idiot.” He calls behind him, and waves without looking back.

Jaehyun stares at his friend’s back until he’s a speck, then returns to his apartment.

The sound of dishes being washed greets his ears.

“Yong, what did I say...” Jaehyun approaches Taeyong, reaching for his arm, but Taeyong shrugs it off.

“I learned this. I can handle the dishes. I can be useful too!” He says in a low tone, keeping his eyes trained on the task in front of him.

“That’s not what I meant. I know you can be useful-” Jaehyun tugs a little harder, trying to get Taeyong to stop, but the ARC won’t budge.

“Then let me finish this!” Taeyong says stubbornly.

“Taeyong…” Jaehyun sighs. “Fine then. Let me help, at least.”

Taeyong doesn’t meet his eyes, but he does step aside to start rinsing the soapy dishes. Jaehyun shuffles beside him and cleans the rest of the dishes.

“I-” He takes a breath. “I’m sorry for treating you like that just now.”

Taeyong says nothing, so Jaehyun presses on.

“I’ll try to be less overbearing from now on, I promise. It’s just I-”

Taeyong turns to Jaehyun, hurt and concern swimming in his blue-grey eyes. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t know that I would start crying. I thought I could help you.”

“No- what are you saying? Don’t be sorry! You’re not here to help me- well I guess you are, but that’s not your only reason for being.” Jaehyun replies. He turns and meet’s Taeyong’s trusting eyes and feels his insides clench. “I’m really grateful to have you in this household, but never feel obligated to help me. You’re already-” _someone I look forward to see each morning._ “-already… already very helpful to me, and you’re keeping me company! Like, your company makes me happy!”

Jaehyun knows he’s stumbling over his words and sounding like an idiot, but he doesn’t want to be misunderstood, especially when his actions are so… questionable.

“I guess we’re both just learning as we go, playing by ear.” Jaehyun sighs. “It’s not a bad thing. We- I. I’ll learn to trust you more.”

Taeyong nods silently, but he doesn’t say anything else, so the conversation trails off.

They finish with the dishes and wiping the counter and stove clean, then Jaehyun puts away the old Optix glass while Taeyong settles in his blankets again.

After a long pause, Jaehyun says, “I have an early day tomorrow so I’m gonna wash up now.”

Taeyong nods.

So Jaehyun quickly changes into his pyjamas (which are really just his boxers), and takes care of his hygiene problems, hoping that the weird mood will blow over with time.

“I think…” Says a voice by the door.

Jaehyun glances over in the mirror to see Taeyong sharing back at him.

“I think I understand why you did that. I think… I might have done the same.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widen and quickly wipes his mouth, then turns to Taeyong, who looks alarmed at his expression.

“You’re not making me rinse again, are you?” Taeyong says, tone full of suspicion.

Jaehyun blinks, then he laughs loudly and scratches the back of his head. “Man, what the hell am I doing.” He mumbles to himself. He exhales deeply, then looks up again. “No I’m not. Let’s go to bed.”

Taeyong nods, and flashes a small smile.

Something inside Jaehyun crumbles, and he grins as his hand reaches up to tousle the soft silver hair.

“Thanks,” f _or understanding._

“Thank you,"  _for caring._

The bedding is made when Jaehyun steps out of the washroom, and he feels a hand slip into his own.

“…I have a request. Can I sleep with you tonight?”


	6. 05

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Were you scared when you first learned to swim?

As the apartment door closes behind him, Jaehyun lets out a deep sigh, swallows the growing blush, and bangs his head against the wall for good measure.

He was able to sidestep the topic for a handful of days, but he knew it was a matter of time.

Last night when Taeyong asked if they could sleep together, his body _may have_ jumped into the wrong conclusion. The only conclusion it came to. _That_ conclusion.

It's a biological reaction. It's natural. He's a young, healthy adult. There is a very attractive person… no, ARC… living with him. They bicker, they talk, they cook and clean, they've even done the laundry together. They've spent the majority of the past few days with each other, and Jaehyun hasn't had the time or space to rub one out.

So sue him if he's feeling uncharacteristically _driven_.

Especially when he's asleep.

They were on their backs, staring at the ceiling when Jaehyun fell asleep. But when he wakes up, he's on his side and Taeyong is pressed against his front, his face practically in Jaehyun’s armpit. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that he was having a rather _exciting_ dream, and his reaction was definitely poking Taeyong. To make matters worse, Taeyong was aware of this predicament. His eyes were carefully searching Jaehyun’s as the latter wakes up, like asking,   _what the hell is this?_ It was an answer Jaehyun would rather… not. Just, not.

How the hell does one even approach the topic of birds and bees with an ARC?

So he pulls himself together, mentally and physically, and pretends everything is normal, because it is. It _is._

Taeyong looks like he's about to ask about it, but thinks better, and pulls away. Jaehyun internally sighs in relief, and makes as beeline for the shower after muttering a half-hearted excuse. Taeyong looks curiously at his retrieving back, but doesn't say anything.

And if Jaehyun takes longer in the shower, Taeyong also doesn't comment.

It's only when Jaehyun steps out of the shower, looking much less tense, that Taeyong hazards a question: “What's your schedule today?”

Jaehyun almost jumps out of his skin, but he reels it back just in time. He takes a deep breath and plasters on his lightest smile. “School. Work. A full day. I won't be back the evening.” He replies. Then he remembers, and he turns to Taeyong with a look of apprehension.

“Will you be okay alone today?”

Taeyong nods, looking away. “Yeah. I'll be going to the library, if that's okay.”

The scent of coffee settles into Jaehyun consciousness. He blinks, then remembers to pull on a pair of shorts.

“Thank you for the coffee. And yes, of course it's okay. You're not bound to this apartment. Given that it’s safe and legal, you're allowed to do whatever you want.” Jaehyun says.

Taeyong nods.

With that, Jaehyun goes about his morning ritual- coffee, catching up with the news. He tries to not let the worry and nervousness show. The idea of Taeyong wandering around town all by himself makes Jaehyun feel anxious. In fact, it builds itself to the point where he finds the plain, nondescript cap from before and hands it to Taeyong.

“I won't tell you to wear it, but if you think it's necessary...” Jaehyun trails.

Taeyong understands. He nods and takes the hat from Jaehyun’s hands. “Thank you.” He says with a small smile.

The tension bleeds from around Jaehyun’s eyes and mouth, and he sighs and finishes his coffee.

When it's time to leave, Taeyong meets Jaehyun by the door as the latter slips on his sneakers, grey eyes expectant. Jaehyun’s lips pull into a soft smile as he cards his fingers through the silver tresses. “Be good.” He says.

“I'm always good.” Taeyong replies with a straight face. Jaehyun chuckles.

“Uh huh. Try to be back before nightfall, okay?”

Taeyong nods.

The mornings where Jaehyun wakes up to a smarter Taeyong seem to be over. But the person Jaehyun will meet after coming home from school and work makes him feel equal parts of excitement and apprehension.

For one, Jaehyun hopes Taeyong learns about the birds and bees on his own.

For another, what else _would_ Taeyong learn? He seems interested to know everything there is to about everything. The kind to leave no stone unturned, even if it means to disrupt social norms. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power. So, would Taeyong want to ‘overthrow’ Jaehyun and be his own person?

That doesn’t seem so bad.

Then, if brought to the extreme, would Taeyong want to be a leader? A guerrilla leader? A revolutionary?

No, he doesn’t seem like the type to take action for his knowledge. All he’s been doing is sharing with others. He’s shown that he’s good at following orders, but he’s never made any. He applies his new-found knowledge to make new connections. He even thinks in hypotheticals. That means he has the mental capacity of a 6 to 8 year old human.

Jaehyun sighs and rubs his eyes tiredly. It’s hot. The train pulls into the station and he steps on, squeezing past two people to get to the middle of the train, and stares out the window.

It feels too far off into the future to think about- what Taeyong will do. Who he will become?

But it’s not too late to start questioning where he came from, and what he was made for.

That’s what ARCs are, in the end. They’re made for specific purposes. A means to an end.

And from what Jaehyun’s gathered of Taeyong, he has an inkling, but he needs more concrete proof. Taeyong wouldn’t be left outside of the dumpster if he’s that powerful. And beautiful. No one who makes or owns Taeyong would even think to discard an ARC like him.

So why?

The flat farmlands, peppered with huts and houses and mills slowly become more populated, less colourful. Midway into the ride, a slab of grey slams against the lush greens and yellows, and Jaehyun knows he’s entered the sprawling city.

Jaehyun sighs again, squeezing his eyes shut.

Doyoung’s words echo into his consciousness: _Someone could be looking for him._

It feels strange to be an owner to an ARC as human-like as Jaehyun. He doesn’t want this to become a form of slavery, and he’s extremely conscious of what he asks of Taeyong, what he expects. But it doesn’t explain the feeling of possessiveness when he thinks that Taeyong belonged to someone.

The scuff on the corner of Taeyong’s right eye flashes in his mind again, and his grip around the handle tightens.

If it’s between himself and someone else, Jaehyun would much rather it be him to be responsible for Taeyong’s wellbeing.

Unless Taeyong thinks otherwise.

But until he declares independence, Jaehyun is going to do his best to take care of Taeyong.

•••

Taeyong stares at one yellow eye and one blue eye of a cat. On its red collar are two characters: Bo-ri. It narrows its eyes at Taeyong’s crouched figure before slowly approaching. Taeyong remembers Stephanie’s words and extends his hand. Bori sniffs him once, twice, then takes a step back. She slinks around him, before approaching from the side, then ducks under his hand like saying, _Pet me here._

Taeyong recognizes the invitation and scratches her head.

The purring is unexpected, and welcoming.

An old man bikes past, and Bori quickly jumps on her feet. She stares at Taeyong for a moment longer, then scampers off.

Taeyong experiences a strange urge to follow her, and he nearly does, but he’s already gotten side-tracked from making his way to the library. Actually-

He looks around.

So maybe he strayed off the path to follow the cat, but he still knows where he is. He finds his landmark- the corner store, and continues his walk. Fifteen minutes later, he sees the looming building of the library and quickly makes his way inside.

The turnstile detectors are the first things he encounters. Like last time, he feels around the ledge and waits. A moment later, the gate opens and he inhales, deep and slow.

There’s just _something_ about the scent of books that draws him in.

Taeyong permits a small smile, and strolls into the library with a bounce to his steps. He quickly locates the shelf he stopped at last time, and scans the titles for things that interest him. It doesn’t take long. Soon, he accumulates eight books and walks to the nearest table. There are no other occupants. He sits down and begins his reading.

•••

A period of time later, two young adults slide into the seats on the other end of the table. They're not exactly quiet- in fact, Taeyong picked up their conversation before they even took their seats. They’re talking about the latest release of ARCs and the newly implemented systems. One of them argues that it is not enough of an improvement, that the company could've pushed further. The other raises the point that other brands of ARCs have released similar specifications, and that discussing about this is a moot point anyway since neither of them have enough money to afford one.

“Just because I can't buy one yet doesn't mean I can't be invested in it.” The first boy says, rolling his eyes. “I don't get why you don't find them being the most impressive technological advancement since the beginning of time.”

The second boy snorts. “I’m not unimpressed, I just don’t like the fact that I can’t own one. The problem is with all ARCs in general. Everything is proprietary, so even if you've bought the ARC and made adjustments to the hardware and systems, if the company wants to recall them it is within their right to take everything back.”

“With a dollar amount,” the first boy rolls his eyes. “But yeah, that's the basic gist of ARCs, no? It's not like it's happened before, so I don't even know why you bring that up.”

“Just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't happen eventually.” The second boy shoots back, waving his friend off.

At that point, someone from the adjacent table hushes at them to be quiet, and the two duck their heads, but shoot each other looks that promise that this discussion is far from over.

Taeyong also ducks his head and pulls his collar higher to cover the evidence that would give him away.

There are some things he's learned voluntarily. In fact, he learns most things based on interest. But there are some things- nuances in human interaction and social expectations, morals and values, that he has a tougher time picking up without being told outright.

Currently, safety and shame are the two lessons he's having a hard time getting a grasp on.

Even in jest, Jaehyun told him to stay out of trouble. Don't do anything unsafe or illegal.

Taeyong knows Jaehyun has his best interest in mind, he wouldn't have been so protective of Taeyong last night if he didn't. As Jaehyun’s charge, Taeyong can understand and respect that sentiment.

But he can't help but draw a comparison between this and how women were judged and treated back in the 21st century. That movement has come a long way and now, most things are non-gender specific. Opportunity is equal. Rape and abuse cases have gone down a significant amount. Education is effective.

But the fact that it took generations to erase the idea bothers Taeyong.

Because he's thinking along the same vein. Will the day ever come when ARCs are recognized as equal to humans?

Taeyong bites his lip, and lets out a soft sigh. His grip around the book slip and it clatters loudly against the table. He looks up in alarm, and, upon seeing the two young men openly stare at him, quickly averts his gaze down again.

He doesn't blame Jaehyun for telling him to lay low, to not engage. To be safe. But he doesn't want to walk on eggshells every time he goes out on his own.

That’s so… confining.

And so unfair.

Charged with a burst of indignant energy, Taeyong jumps from his seat and collects the books from the table. He hastily puts them away, even the one that he's yet to read, and looks for the books on ARCs.

He finds them eventually. The collection is extensive despite ARCs having only been around for half a century. A section pertains to the economics of ARCs, another to the benefits and social influences. The biggest section is about the technical and growth aspect. The make, design, materials, and build. But when Taeyong flips through the books, he finds they're mostly high level perspectives on the specs and make, and little on everything else.

He sighs in frustration, and pushes the books away.

Proprietary.

Him.

The idea pisses him off.

Taeyong stalks off in anger. After a while, and much further into the labyrinth of shelves, he pauses.

It's stupid. He doesn't want to go back to his manufacturer. It doesn't sound like a nice place. It doesn't sound like he'll be taken care of, it sounds like a place he'll get taken apart. Either to be destroyed or repurposed. It means that he'll be away from Jaehyun.

He doesn't _want_ that.

He's staring in the distance, eyes unfocused. The anger flows through his body in waves, only subsiding when he comes to the stubborn decision: he just _won't_ go. No one can make him if that's not what he wants.

When Taeyong blinks and becomes aware of his surroundings again, the first thing he sees is a big book laid out, flipped open, under a light. It's… a really big book.

Taeyong frowns and approaches it.

On the top of the page, in the middle, is the word _ENCYCLOPEDIA XVIII._

Taeyong blinks.

Well. He does intend to read something else and distract his mind from thinking about his existence. So with some effort, Taeyong flips the encyclopedia all the way to the front, and digs in.

 

•••

When Taeyong steps out of the library, the sun has long begun its descent. The street lamps have flickered on a while ago, and a dawning darkness shrouds over Taeyong’s vision. There is no utilitarian reason to pull his hat off, but he does it anyway. The night offers a veil, and Taeyong relishes in it. A smile graces his lips as he walks home.

The encyclopedia… was addictive. It’s perhaps the most densely-packed book of all kinds of information about the world- and he _finished reading it_ . He didn’t even take a break in between the M’s and N’s- that’s right down the middle of the alphabet. He’s learned _so much-_

As he recalls all of the information, particularly the ones that tickle his fancy, he hears his name being called:

“Taeyong!”

It’s from a familiar voice. Taeyong doesn’t need to turn back before his lips form the words, “Stephanie, hi.”

Stephanie grins and waves at him. She’s wearing a loose-fitted white linen dress with long sleeves and drawstrings collar. Wrapped around her slim waist is a pink apron, complete with big ruffles. Then he notices the broom in her hand and raises an eyebrow. “What are you cleaning?”

Stephanie gestures to the shop behind him. “My shop!” She says with a grin.

Taeyong peeks around her and sees an old wooden store that seems to be standing on its last years. The sign is written on hanji, framed by wood and propped up crooked along the top. _Into the New World_. The expression on his face makes her laugh, soft and sweet like tinkerbells. “What do you sell?”

“Cookies, manju, mochi, and tea mostly. And some handmade trinkets. Do you want to come in and check it out?” Stephanie asks as she props the broom against the door and wipes her hands on her apron.

“Aren’t you closing?” Taeyong asks.

“Starting to. Technically, I’m open for another half an hour,” Stephanie sticks her tongue out playfully. “But there isn’t too much business this late in the evening, so I’ve started to clean a bit early.”

Taeyong snorts, lips quirking into a small smile as well. “I have a bit of time.”

Stephanie grins and waves Taeyong in. The chimes on the door gives a crisp ring, and the inside is very much empty. To the side of the entrance is the counter and behind it the kitchen. Laid out in the middle are various cutely packaged baked goods. Layered above them are wooden and cast iron trinkets and ornaments. Off to the far end and against the windows is a raised platform and three short tables with pillows propped up beside them. Slippers of all sizes line along the side of the slightly lifted platform, all pink and frilly.

On the ceiling are upside down hanging branches of flowers, casting soft pebble shadows underneath. The shop looks old, even on the inside. But it holds a charm that can only be described as lovely.

“It’s a very, ah, cute place.” Taeyong says eventually.

Stephanie grins at this. “Thanks! I started this shop with two other friends, but they’re not here right now. Do you want something to drink? Tea, perhaps?”

“I’ve never had tea before.” Taeyong answers truthfully.

“Is that so. Well… hm. Here,” She hands over a tin can and gestures for Taeyong to take a sniff. “do you like the smell of this?”

Taeyong takes an inhale. It smells… like grass. Like bitter grass. He tells Stephanie as much, and she laughs heartily.

“Okay, maybe not that.” She turns to the large glass jars behind her, tapping her bottom lip thoughtfully. When her eyes catch on a mason jar with red liquid, she pulls it down and peels open the lid. “What about this?”

Fruits are floating inside- lemon and an indiscernible small, red fruit. He gives it a sniff. “It smells sweet... and a bit sour.” Taeyong looks at Stephanie, who catches on quickly.

“Omija it is.” Stephanie smiles. She turns over and scoops half a spoonful of the red syrup into a cup, add chilled water and stirs it. Taeyong watches her small but capable hands make the drink with practiced ease, then he notices the blisters on her fingers. They seem relatively new, as well.

“Do you make the trinkets?” Taeyong asks.

Stephanie places the small glass of red drink in front of Taeyong and meets his curious gaze. “Most people would ask if I baked the goods.” She smiles in a friendly way and nods at the drink, silently telling Taeyong to give it a go. “What gave it away?”

Taeyong lifts the cool glass against his lips and takes a sip. It’s very sweet with a hint of citrus and another flavour… or five. “Your hands.” He says at last. “This is a very interesting taste. What is omija?”

Stephanie hums softly and studies her hands for a moment, before shrugging and walking around the counter to the raised platform. Taeyong follows her to the tables, where she pulls out two cushions and sits with her legs dangling, ankles crossed. Taeyong mimics her and sits down as well.

“Five-flavoured seed.” Stephanie explains, tucking her hands into the folds of the dress. “I’m actually not sure what it is. My friend- one of the other two owner of this shop- makes and prepares most of the food and drinks. I sometimes help out with the cookies, but I’m the carpenter and ironsmith.”

Taeyong takes another drink, and smiles. “I like this.”

Stephanie returns with a secret smile of her own. It doesn’t raise any alarm bells, per se, but it does make Taeyong wonder. “I’m glad.”

The conversation lulls into a comfortable pause. Outside, the cicadas buzz loudly, intermittently as the traffic and foot traffic dwindle.

“Why do you make them if the process hurts you?” Taeyong asks.

Stephanie shrugs lightly. “It only hurts a little. I wear these as proud battle scars, or, rather, like old friends.” She stands to her feet and walks to the table middle table. “Making small wooden and iron things make me happy. I’ve done it all my life, and would gift them to my family and friends.”

Taeyong also stands, and catches her reminiscent smile.

“They were kinda ugly and lopsided at first. But I got better and better. And now, I make and sell them for a living.” She picks up a cast iron cat, and gestures for Taeyong’s hand. “Feel this.”

Taeyong cradles the cat and rolls it back and forth in his hand. The weight and shape are balanced and well thought out. The details are delicate but strong, carved with intention. He can see that in a world of contactless transactions, a solid weight like the cat in his hand is a welcoming change. In fact, it almost feels like an anchor.

Stephanie giggles, and Taeyong’s eyes widen.

“You’re cute when you think out loud.” She teases.

“It's never happened before.” Taeyong stammers, blushing slightly.

“It’s fine.” Stephanie reassures. “It adds character.”

Taeyong smiles awkwardly, handing the cat back to Stephanie. “I suppose?”

Stephanie puts the cat away. “It’s that feeling. I want people who receive my creations to get that feeling. That’s why I make them.”

Taeyong nods. He understands this.

“So, where were you coming back from? You were out, right?”

“I was at the library.” Taeyong responds.

And that’s when Stephanie becomes another victim to Taeyong’s knowledge-vomit.

By the time he’s summed up what he’s learned, Stephanie has cleaned the rest of the shop, put away the snacks, trinkets and drinks, and is ready to go home.

“You work so quickly.” Taeyong comments in surprise.

Stephanie smiles in a strangely patient and motherly way, and says that there are times when she works faster. Taeyong puts away the pillows as Stephanie turns off the lights.

It’s 9 pm. The same time when Jaehyun said he’d be done work. If they leave now, he should be back before Jaehyun does, so Jaehyun wouldn’t have to worry. He knows he promised to be home before nightfall, but the encyclopedias had him so caught up- he couldn’t help but stay _just_ a bit longer to finish them. It’s the last thing Taeyong wants- for Jaehyun to be worried for him.

He taps on Stephanie’s shoulder.

When she meets his gaze, he says, “I promised I’d be back soon.”

Stephanie nods in understanding. “We’ll walk fast.”

And that’s when Taeyong learns about speed-walking. He’s never been in a hurry to go anywhere before. Evidently, Stephanie has done a lot of it.

She laughs loudly when he points it out.

“Yeah, when I’m with my girls and we go shopping, we end up speed-walking from shop to shop because we’d spend too much time browsing in each.” The corner of her eyes crinkle in a beautiful and charming way. Taeyong also chuckles.

“Have you been friends for a very long time?” He asks.

“It’s been about 14, 15 years now?” Stephanie says, sounding like the answer surprises even herself. “We’re basically sisters with how close we are.”

“Are they the other two shop owners?” Taeyong ventures a guess.

“They’re two of eight. One of them is the youngest, the other is the oldest.” Taeyong’s eyes widen. _Nine best friends!?_ “Most of my girls are either living in the city or in other countries. We’ve scattered quite far.” Stephanie says wistfully.

Taeyong pauses thoughtfully. “Do you miss them?”

“ _So_ much. But we’ve also grown so much from when we first met, that it’s hard to be in the same situation as we once did 15 years ago.” Stephanie replies. There’s a twinge of melancholy in her voice.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Taeyong says.

Stephanie shrugs. “It’s okay. Change is not a bad thing. It’s what happens when people grow.”

Taeyong pauses mid-step. He stares at Stephanie’s back for a while, lost in his thoughts. Stephanie is a few paces ahead when she notices. She turns back and shoots him a curious look.

“What’s wrong?” She asks quizzically.

 _Growing…_ It’s not something he can do, is it? Yet time will pass regardless. But humans grow. Old. Together. Apart. Then older still. For humans, it’s a natural, linear progression. Humans like Jaehyun. Unlike himself.

Taeyong shakes his head to clear his thoughts. “Nothing.”

Stephanie studies his expression under the dimly lit street, and smiles wryly. “Don’t worry too much. It’s far less scary than it seems.”

Taeyong nods slowly.

“C’mon, we’re almost home.” Stephanie stretches out her hand and waves Taeyong to walk with her. He hurries to her side.

Together, they make their way home. As they near the entrance, Stephanie places a hand on Taeyong’s arm and holds him there for a moment while she digs out something from her shoulder bag. It’s a pack of vanilla chocolate checkered cookies.

“For you to share with your friends.” She smiles secretly again. Huh?

“Wha-” Taeyong starts to ask.

“Hey Taeyong, who’s this?”

Taeyong whips his head around and sees Jaehyun quickly approaching from behind him. Jaehyun eyes between them with a cool expression, but Taeyong sees and recognizes the underlying emotions- worry, protectiveness, surprise- and is that jealousy?

“This is Stephanie. Um,” Taeyong turns back to Stephanie. “And he’s Jaehyun, my-”

Jaehyun beats him to the introductions. His hand is outstretched and the smile pulling at his lips is almost forced. “Jaehyun, nice to meet you.”

“You as well,” says Stephanie, returning with a sweet, confident smile of her own.

Jaehyun falters for a beat, then straightens right up as he looks between the two. “Did you meet in the library?”

Taeyong shakes his head. “No, we were acquainted two days ago. I ran into her again today on my way home.”

“Ah, I see.” Jaehyun replies.

“I was closing my shop when I saw Taeyong walking past, and invited him in for some tea.” Stephanie explains, calm and honest like an open book.

Jaehyun opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but thinks better of it and nods instead.

“She gave us cookies.” Taeyong says, gesturing to the small packet of pink cradled in his arms.

Catching sight of the cookies, Jaehyun relaxes a little. “I see. Thank you, Stephanie.”

Stephanie huffs, like she has something else to say, but she smiles it off instead. “You’re welcome, Jaehyun.” She turns back to Taeyong and smiles again. “I should get going. It’s getting late.”

Jaehyun blinks. “Ah, right. So should we.”

There is a pause. When neither of them move, Taeyong shifts beside Jaehyun and slides his hand into the larger ones, linking their fingers together. Jaehyun blinks and looks at Taeyong in surprise.

“Thanks for the cookies again. I’ll see you later.” Taeyong says with a soft smile and a wave.

Stephanie waves back, and with a final goodbye, walks towards the elevators.

Meanwhile, Taeyong pulls Jaehyun to the stairs, their fingers still intertwined. Jaehyun looks to be deep in thought, chewing his bottom lip, eyes too far-away for the present. They wordlessly make it back into the apartment, and Taeyong pushes past the door when Jaehyun tightens his grip around Taeyong’s wrist. He looks decidedly conflicted.

“Yong?” Jaehyun starts.

“Hm?”

“She- you were safe when you were with her- with Stephanie, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You didn’t feel weird or anything?”

Taeyong tilts his head. “Weird how?”

“Untowards… unwelcoming…” Jaehyun gestures awkwardly with his hands. “Did anything that made you feel uncomfortable?”

“No.” Taeyong answers.

Jaehyun reads Taeyong’s eyes for a long pause, then nods.

But Jaehyun isn’t the only one looking. Taeyong also studied Jaehyun’s expression, the slight pull of his lips, the small wrinkle between his brows. It makes Taeyong feel bad. It also makes him want to do something to change it.

The strange air around them slowly dispels as they remove their shoes and shuffle back into the apartment. Jaehyun sighs as his pack drops from his shoulders with a loud thump, and he peels his t-shirt off with one clean sweep.

“Jae?”

Jaehyun hears Taeyong calling from behind and turns. “Hm?”

Taeyong is close, very close. He has a cookie in his hand, pressed gently against Jaehyun’s pink lips. “Try this.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widen as he stumbles back, but Taeyong follows his steps and closes their distance again. “W-what-”

Taeyong makes an insistent noise in the back of his throat and narrows his eyes slightly.

Blushing, Jaehyun opens his mouth and bites into the cookie. It breaks into a messy half, but the creamy vanilla and chocolate flavours are prominent and distinguishable, until they blend into a softer flavour in his mouth.

He hasn’t had cookies this good since...

Taeyong sees a shadow flit through his eyes and presses closer, a frown forming on his forehead. “It’s not actually poisoned, is it?” He asks, half in jest, half out of real concern.

Jaehyun blinks and shakes his head. “No, it’s actually really good.” He smiles wryly. “Since when was I your poison taster?”

The corner of Taeyong’s mouth quirks up as he says, “You do look like a guinea pig.”

Jaehyun narrows his eyes warningly.

Taeyong meets his glance, trying to hide the laughter in his eyes.

Jaehyun steals the half-eaten cookie from Taeyong’s hand and shoves it in the ARC’s mouth, then pulls them both on the floor of the living area.

“Not even five minutes of coming home and I have to deal with you meeting a girl, being gifted cookies, walking each other home-” Jaehyun mumbles under his breath, and Taeyong understands.

“It’s not like that. Stephanie and I- we’re-” Taeyong tries to explain. He meets Jaehyun’s heavy gaze and the words die in his throat. After a moment, Jaehyun shakes his head, like he’s trying to make up his mind.

“It’s fine if it is. I should’ve seen this coming. I-” Jaehyun pauses distractedly, crossing his legs and pushing his hair back. “I knew I should’ve talked to you about birds and bees this morning, I just didn’t think this would happen so quickly.”

It’s Taeyong’s turn to raise his eyebrows with incredulity. “It’s _really_ not what you’re thinking of.”

“People don’t randomly give cookies to other people.” Jaehyun points out matter-of-factly.

“Stephanie is the owner of the small snack store. She said she wanted me to share them with my friends.” Taeyong shoots right back.

“That sounds oddly maternal, maybe she’s into that-” Jaehyun suggests with an unhappy hint to his voice.

“I highly doubt that.” Taeyong narrows his eyes and crosses his arms in warning. “Also, I don’t need to be taught about birds and bees. I’ve already read about it in the encyclopedia.”

“The encyclo- what? The entire series? I thought that was over like, 40,000 pages.”

“52,396 pages, actually.”

“...” Jaehyun doesn’t know how to respond because what the fuck, he was just throwing a number out and Taeyong went above it.

“I… was distracted.”

“...Right.”

“I might’ve been upset.”

“... When I’m distracted or upset, I don’t read _fifty something thousand pages of encyclopedia_.”

“We’re very different people.” Taeyong notes with a hint of sarcasm.

Jaehyun scoffs. “You don’t say. No wonder why you came back so late.” He sighs, leaning back on his arms. “What were you distracted and upset about?”

Taeyong inhales, taking a moment to recollect his thoughts and emotions.

“I… overheard a conversation at the library. It was about how ARCs are proprietary and that I can be recalled at any time. I don’t … have control- I can’t even protect my memories and identity- And the books in this library gave no indication as to what happens to ARCs when they’re recalled.”

Jaehyun sees the frustration and fear in Taeyong’s eyes and leans closer as the other struggles to find the words.

“I hate the fact that my identity is at the mercy of someone else. I hate not being in control.” Taeyong says finally. “I tried to find out which manufacturer I came from, but I couldn’t even find that.”

Remembering how frustrated Taeyong got the last time, Jaehyun can't help but smile sardonically.

“I’m not surprised. Doyoung had trouble looking for anything related to you in the dark web. It’s less likely that a public library would have that information. Seems like whoever made you wanted to keep you as a secret.”

The frown on Taeyong’s forehead deepens. He’s about to open his mouth, but Jaehyun continues.

“But think of it this way: as far as we know, you don’t have a traceable history. So there’s no way to know if and when you’re recalled. You were found by me, which makes me your acting controller. So unless something happens to me, which-” Jaehyun knocks on the hardwood floor, “Hopefully won’t, I’d say you’re in good hands.”

Taeyong blinks. “That’s… knocking on wood.”

“Not a big fan of superstitions in general, but some become an odd habit.” Jaehyun smiles with a light-hearted shrug. A hand reaches across to play with Taeyong’s silver hair. “You’ve certainly learned a lot.”

“There’s a lot to learn.” Taeyong repeats, shrugging off-handedly.

Jaehyun’s fingers pause in mid-brush. “Is there something else bothering you?”

Taeyong considers the question for a moment. “There… is.”

Jaehyun waits patiently while Taeyong finds the right words. But when he follows Taeyong’s gaze to the black baseball cap, he understands his dilemma.

“I-”  
“Hold on, I have something for you.” Jaehyun interrupts.

Jaehyun digs into his bag and pulls something out. “I didn’t think Doyoung would make them like this, to be honest.” He says with a hint of embarrassment. He gestures for Taeyong to present his hand palm up, and drops a ring in it.

“Try it on for size.” Jaehyun says.

Taeyong looks at it for a moment, then at Jaehyun, and clears his throat awkwardly. It’s a simple silver band. No groves, no etchings. Innocuous and discreet. It’s perfect.

He tries it on each finger, then finally settles for his pointer finger. “It fits best.” He announces, feeling pleased.

Jaehyun looks a little dazed as he watches Taeyong slip the ring around each finger. When Taeyong is done and looks up at him, Jaehyun flusters and clears his throat and slips his ring on as well. It fits his pointer finger best, too.

A strange mood falls upon them.

The ring. He can teach Taeyong how to use the ring.

“Right. So. Tap once to wake it up. You can see here-” Jaehyun gestures at the projected icons. “Text and voice messaging. Geo-tagging. Transportation options. Image, audio and video recording through the pinhole camera at the front. And that should be all, unless Sicheng sneaks some other systems in there- which, knowing him, wouldn’t surprise me.”

Taeyong nods, following along with the gadget in his hands. He soon gets the hang of the weight on his finger, and twists his hand this way and that to admire its fit.

“I’m sorry for forcing a disguise on you.” Jaehyun’s eyes fall on Taeyong, genuinely apologetic.

Taeyong shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. Like I said, I would’ve done the same, knowing the social climate. It’s better to err on the side of caution, even if it's frustrating.”

Jaehyun sighs, brushing his bangs backwards. “The ring won’t solve that problem, but at least I’d know where you are and vice versa. And communications are open regardless of time.” He explains.

Taeyong nods in understanding. “I think I can handle a physical altercation, if it happens.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. “Really now? How strong are you?”

Taeyong hums. “Stronger than that man, from before. Probably stronger than you, too.”

Up goes the other eyebrow. “Have you ever been in a fight?”

Taeyong shrugs nonchalantly. “I’ll likely win against a human with strength and reading body language alone.”

Jaehyun snorts. “Cocky. What if it was a surprise? Most people don’t anticipate an attack.”

Taeyong narrows his eyes. “I’ll sense them. Then I’ll move fast enough to block them.”

Jaehyun throws his arms up in surrender. “Well then. I hope you don’t have to test that theory out any time soon.”

Miffed, Taeyong’s eyes follow Jaehyun as the other climbs to his feet and towards the bathroom. “Don't underestimate me.” He calls behind Jaehyun.

“I don't. If I did, I would've probably pulled a fast one on you.” Comes Jaehyun’s muffled response. The sink turns on, and a moment later, he pokes his head out with a toothbrush in his mouth. “Like, if this was a romcom, you’d be flat on your back because I’d have decided to flex my muscles and show you who's boss. But, you know, this isn’t.” He shrugs, then goes back to brushing.

Taeyong wrinkles his nose at the thought.

A few minutes later, Jaehyun joins him in the living area, washed up and ready for bed. He glances at Taeyong’s hair, then back down, and says, “Do ARCs shower?”

Taeyong levels him with a long look. “Is that your backhanded way of telling me I stink?”

Jaehyun snickers. “Ooh, snarky aren't you?”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “Your concern for my hygiene is uncalled for. I know I don't smell bad.”

“You don't.” Jaehyun agrees with a smirk. “Might still want to wash your hair though, it's getting a little droopy.”

“Must be from all the petting I get.” Taeyong shoots right back.

“Touché.” And just to make his point, Jaehyun digs his fingers into Taeyong’s hair and gives it a fierce rub.

“Motherfu-” Taeyong tries to bat the offending hand away, but it comes back a second later.

“Hey- I told you to forget about that.” Jaehyun warns.

Taeyong sticks his tongue out. “Unlike humans, ARCs don't forget.”

“All the mores a pity.” Jaehyun mutters under his breath. He pulls out the made blankets and fluffs his pillow. “Totally giving you a bath tomorrow. Don't even try to run away.”

Taeyong snorts. “Why would I run away? I'm not scared of water.”

Jaehyun shoots Taeyong a look of doubt, and Taeyong crosses his arms in retort. “I'm not!”

Taeyong cheeks heat up when he realizes Jaehyun is teasing him again, and glances away in an aggravated huff. Jaehyun chuckles and peels back the bed covers.

“C’mon.” He says, nodding at the blankets.

Taeyong’s eyes widen. He looks at Jaehyun then, not a second longer, dives head first into the blankets.

“You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that.” Jaehyun chides with no heat while shaking his head. He orders the lights to dim and joins Taeyong in the blankets. There is maybe two inches between them when they're laying on their backs. But when Taeyong starfishes the entire futon, Jaehyun has no choice but to shove the other aside.

“Make room. You're not even that big you shouldn't take up that much space.” He complains, bending his elbow with strength so Taeyong can't roll back into his territory.

After a battle of push and shove, Taeyong turns to Jaehyun with a heated glare. “That would imply that you're big and therefore need more space.” He growls.

Jaehyun snorts. “I'm thi~is much taller than you, so yes, I do need more space.” He says, squeezing his fingers to show the difference.

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “More like this.” He corrects the spacing, clamping Jaehyun fingers by mere millimetres. “Which means… you get this much more spa- Hey!-”

Taeyong is about to draw a line on the futon when Jaehyun rolls to his back and spreads his limbs as far as he can, smirking in victory. “C’mon, you wanted to sleep in the futon. You'll have to get used to this.” He smiles challengingly.

Taeyong does his best deadpan. “Isn't this like one of those romcom situations you spoke of?”

Jaehyun shrugs lazily. “Whatever gets me my quality sleep.”

Taeyong assesses the bed spacing for a good minute, then he slowly eases to Jaehyun’s right, curling into a ball by his side.

“Side sleeper?”

“I’m in the best position to obtain more space when it's relinquished by your limbs.” Taeyong responds very seriously, in tone makes Jaehyun do a double take.

“You realize this isn't a competition, right? You're going to be against an unconscious man.” He notes dryly.

“...And the side least likely to be poked with your boner.” Taeyong mumbles under his breath.

In a second, Jaehyun flushes a brilliant red.

“That's a low blow.” He growls, turning to his side- the side away from Taeyong- to hide his blush.

Now it’s Taeyong’s turn to snicker. “Is that a euphemism?”

Jaehyun groans and drags his arm above his eyes. “Could be? Not in this context? I'm also tired and need sleep. Stop talking.”

“But. But what if-”

“What.” Jaehyun grinds out.

Taeyong bites back a smirk. “Nothing. I just wanted to rile you up. Night Jae.”

Jaehyun sighs loudly. “You little shit.”

Jaehyun has half a heart to swing his arm around to pull Taeyong into a headlock and teach him a lesson, but he doesn't. Not when he, too, is distracted by something. His mind travels back to the image of Taeyong and Stephanie walking home, and an unpleasant feeling settles in his stomach.

After a long period of silence, Taeyong inhales softly. “Can’t sleep?”

Jaehyun exhales softly. “How did you know?”

“You usually experience hypnic jerk before you fall into a deeper slumber.” Comes the quiet reply.

Jaehyun peels an eye open to stare at Taeyong. “That’s kinda creepy.”

“Contrary, it’s quite common.” Taeyong chews his lip and gives Jaehyun a measured look. “If you want, I can recite the first 50 pages of the forensics textbook to you.”

Jaehyun frowns and snuggles closer against the futon. “Nah, I'm good. Thanks though.”

“Are you sure? You seem to be missing some key points if your notes are anything to go by-”

Jaehyun rolls towards Taeyong, a scowl on his face. “Yeah? Well, you should just take notes for me. Hell, why stop there? You should write my assignments and take my exams too.” He mutters sarcastically.

Taeyong snorts. “Please. You'll probably land in academic probation after being accused of cheating.”

Jaehyun smirks. “Or they will realize the genius that I am and pass me with flying colours.” Despite the bite in his words, his voice is low and soft.

“The ideas you get in your head sometimes…” Taeyong teases.

There it is again. The curve of lips. The quiet and even tone of voice. The soft look in deep, expressive grey eyes. Jaehyun averts his gaze.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not... really, per se,” Jaehyun pauses, looking for the right words. “I'm just, ah, surprised at the things I learn about you, I guess.”

“Is that a good thing?” Taeyong asks.

Jaehyun sighs softly. “I'll hazard a yes for now.”

“Hmm.” Taeyong wiggles closer. “Is something else on your mind?”

Jaehyun rolls the words over in his head.

To be honest, he doesn’t know what to say. Outright confronting his growing jealousy towards Taeyong’s new relationships is not something he’d do, for a multitude of reasons. But his concern is still valid- he doesn’t want Taeyong to be harassed if he can help it. He also doesn’t want...

“Do you think Stephanie is aware that you’re an ARC?”

Taeyong thinks for a while. “I’m not sure.” He says eventually. “But don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

Taeyong’s hand reaches out to rest on the fabric just above Jaehyun’s heart. Jaehyun stares at Taeyong for a pause, then smiles softly. He covers the smaller hand with his own before guiding both hands to the space between their faces. “That’s the least of my worries.” He admits softly.

Taeyong tilts his head in question. “Then?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just overthinking.”

Maybe this is the lesson.

“I’m gonna try to sleep now. Night, Yong.”

Without waiting for a reply, Jaehyun rolls to his back, exhales deeply, and closes his eyes.

The air is tense around them, even in this darkness. Jaehyun feels bad; he knows Taeyong knows he’s not giving the whole truth. He pulls himself tighter inwards and tries to ignore the feelings in his stomach. Sleep usually comes easy, but not tonight.

Distracted by his efforts to fall asleep, Jaehyun doesn’t hear the shuffling behind him until an arm wraps loosely around his middle, the hand landing somewhere on the soft of his belly (not that he has a lot, thank you very much).

He feels Taeyong’s cool nose nudge against his back, and mutters something he can’t make out, but the gesture makes him smile anyway.

Sleep comes easier after that.

•••

Jaehyun stops himself from checking the geotagging on his ring- again.

The 3 hour physiology lecture is 2 hours too long, in his opinion. His mind has drifted off somewhere in the middle, like lunch, paying his bills, and Taeyong.

If he was worried the day before, the feeling has tripled overnight. He tried to not let it change his interaction with Taeyong, but the ARC must’ve sensed something, because he became even more affectionate. Taeyong made coffee during his shower again, and even complimented his clothes as he got dressed.

“It makes you look… good.” Taeyong says after a careful scan.

Jaehyun pulls the t-shirt over his head, and tugs it down. _Huh?_

Curious, he walks to the bathroom, where the only mirror in the apartment is, and shrugs. “It’s nothing special though.” He comments, trying for nonchalant despite the butterflies in his stomach.

“Hm. I like it.” Taeyong says, approaching from behind. He tucks the tag into Jaehyun’s nape and walks backwards again. “It’s very _you_.”

Jaehyun is about to ask what really is _‘him’_ , but he’s going to be late if he doesn’t leave soon.

“Thanks, I guess?” He says over his shoulder while packing his bag. Then he goes to the door and slips on his sneakers. “Remember, if you’re gonna head out, come back before noon. I’m gonna give you a bath, okay?”

“Aye, sir.” Taeyong replies sarcastically and rolls his eyes.

Jaehyun almost trips over his shoes when he reaches over to ruffle Taeyong’s hair. “That’s the spirit.” He smiles. “See you in a few hours.”

With that, Jaehyun’s leaves.

He has one lecture in the morning, and work in the afternoon. With the few hours in between, he plans to get some groceries, make a week’s worth of lunch, and give Taeyong a bath before he heads off again.

He’s checked Taeyong’s whereabouts only once. Some time around 9 am. The ARC was in the library, safe and sound and probably reading another thousands of pages. And that’s all Jaehyun really needs to know. So he closes the screen and returns his attention to the lecture before him.

He briefly wonders if Taeyong will bump into Stephanie again, but quickly catches himself from that rabbit hole, and instead, starts to make notes on the lesson. There’s another half an hour to go. Needless to say, he’ll need to go through the materials and textbook on his own again. Jaehyun sighs deeply, and buries his head in his arms.

At 11 am, the lecture wraps up and Jaehyun’s the first one out the door. He slides into the train cart, finds a seat, and hopes that by the time he gets home, Taeyong will be there, waiting for him.

•••

It’s a quarter past noon when Jaehyun gets home, bags of groceries in each hand and, not for the first time, is thankful for automatic apartment doors.

Taeyong is waiting in his blankets. He jumps up when Jaehyun comes through the door, a bright smile on his face.

“Welcome back!” Taeyong chirps.

The nervousness in Jaehyun’s stomach instantly disappears. “Thanks.” He smiles with a wide grin of his own.

Taeyong follows Jaehyun to the kitchen, eyeing curiously at the grocery bags. “How was class? It looked like you weren’t moving for all 3 hours.”

Jaehyun chuckles. “Well, you’re not wrong. Class was good. What about you? How was the library?”

Taeyong gasps dramatically. “Were you stalking me?”

“I prefer the term paying attention.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes. “Plus, takes one to know one.”

But Taeyong is all smiles, despite the jab. “Library was good! I found the section on recipes. There are so many- and so many for the same thing! Its like people can’t decide what tastes better so they publish their own versions- and all these food trends and stuff-”

As Taeyong rambles on, Jaehyun sorts out the different ingredients and washes his hands. Then Taeyong finally notices what Jaehyun is doing and rounds the small kitchen island.

“What are you making?” He leans in curiosity.

Jaehyun hums with a small smile.“A few things. Wanna help me?”

Taeyong nods excitedly. “As long as you don’t make me chop up the onions.”

Jaehyun chuckles and sets out the chopping board, various bowls and a sharp knife. “It’s their defense mechanism. But okay, I’ll cut up the onions this time.”

Taeyong looks around and starts noting the different ingredients. “Ground beef, eggs, panko, potatoes, onions- hold on… what exactly are we making?”

“An old-time favourite. Mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and hamburg steak.” Jaehyun answers with a smile, and Taeyong’s eyes widen in recognition.

“Ah. I’ve read about some of those!”

Jaehyun nods. “Then you know the gist of it, right?”

Taeyong eyes at the ingredients. “I think so. But your recipe is probably different from the one I read.”

“Probably.” Jaehyun shrugs. “It’s a household recipe, mom used to make this for me when I’m good.”

Jaehyun makes quick work of the onion, cutting and slicing until a mountain of finely diced onions stand where the onion used to be. Like before, Taeyong watches intently. Then Jaehyun gestures him to come closer, then proceeds to teach him how to cut the broccoli and carrots.

“Cut the broccoli in the middle like this, then spread it on the pan. Peel the stems like this and cut them into little chunks, the same way I did with the onions.” Jaehyun demonstrates the first one, and when he’s done, watches Taeyong maneuver the knife with a careful eye.

Taeyong’s knife work is slower and moves with less finesse, but he’s doing a good job.

Reassured, Jaehyun mashes the boiled potatoes.

Taeyong catches sight of the cheese, heavy cream and butter laid out in front of Jaehyun. “What are these for?”

Jaehyun smirks. “They make you want more. Here, cut up these chives.”

They work in companionable silence until Taeyong finishes, then Jaehyun throws the ingredients together and asks Taeyong to mix it together.

“Just, use your hands.” Jaehyun makes a few hand movements, and Taeyong wrinkles his nose.

“But it’s sticky.”

A comment nearly slips out of Jaehyun, but he bites it back in time. “Cooking isn’t always clean. Get used to it if you want to have good food.”

Taeyong mixes the ingredients with his hands for a while, then huffs impatiently. “Why don’t you have a replicator?”

Jaehyun shrugs. “I’ve crunched the numbers. It’s still more affordable to make and buy my own food than it is to invest in a replicator. Plus, food tastes better like this anyway.”

“But it’s sticky.” Taeyong whines.

“If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Jaehyun shoots back patiently, setting the mashed potatoes aside and taking a look at what Taeyong’s done so far, only to meet big, sad, grey eyes...

“Nnnh.” Taeyong pouts and rolls his shoulders in what can only be described as cute… very cute. God why-

Jaehyun looks down, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand and wrist, trying in vain to stop himself from blushing. Is this really happening? After a beat, he gathers what’s left of his wits, inhales deeply, and meets Taeyong’s whiny pout with strength and resolve. “Tae, you said you’d help.”

Neither are willing to break the stare. Jaehyun very nearly blinks, but it is Taeyong who looks away first with an annoyed harrumph and mutters, “ _Fine._ ”

Jaehyun grins and pinches Taeyong’s cheek, only to realize his actions mid-way and quickly shrinks back. “Let’s form the patties now. Coat them with potato starch for extra crispy, and we can fry them.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “Hn.”

Jaehyun pauses. “Did you just ‘hn’ at me?”

“Yeah, so what?”

A fire starts at the pit of Jaehyun’s stomach. “I will not stand for this disrespect-”

Taeyong props his hands on his hips and says. “You also poked me with your boner and I can sue you for- for sexual abuse-”

Jaehyun sputters. “Don’t even joke about that! I was sleeping and it was a natural body reaction. All men experience a wet dream in their lives!”

Taeyong sneers. “Well, you still poked me with your boner.”

Jaehyun throws his hands up in surrender. “What are we, 15? Stop holding these things against me!”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “What would you rather I hold against you? The slimy patties you’re making?”

Jaehyun points a spatula at Taeyong, oil drips from the tip in the most comical way. “These slimy patties are going to taste amazing and you’ll be eating your words.”

“Uh huh.” Taeyong replies dubiously.

“Don’t even beg me for a taste.” Jaehyun shoots.

“Hey now wait a minute! I _deserve_ a taste, I helped make it!” Taeyong cries indignantly.

“Nope, the amount of complains revoked any rights to eating this.” With that, Jaehyun turns back to the stove resolutely, leaving Taeyong to whine about the unfairness of everything.

…

The meal, of course, turns out amazing. Taeyong scrunches up his nose as Jaehyun gloats, and dives into his blankets from further taunting. It doesn’t stop Jaehyun.

When he’s done eating, Jaehyun collects the dishes and start cleaning up. Then a question comes out from nowhere.

“Say, do you, um. How do you, like, remove waste from your body?”

“...”

Taeyong peeks out from between the blankets like, _Are we seriously talking about this?_

“You know much less about ARCs than I thought you did.” Taeyong finally says.

Jaehyun shrugs. “I never expected to meet an ARC that could eat and sleep.”

“Good point.” Taeyong narrows his eyes, then shrugs. “I don’t know for sure, but whatever I’ve read in the encyclopedias gave me an idea. To put it simply, humans break down food and transforms that into energy. It’s the same with… me, I think. My body breaks down the food and supplies that energy into the rest of my body. And as for the waste… I just breathe it out.”

Jaehyun blinks. “So you’re saying that your digestive system is so advanced that you breathe instead of poop.”

Taeyong nods. “In a nutshell, yes. That’s what I suspect is happening in my body.”

Jaehyun stares at Taeyong for a long moment, reassessing everything, then shakes his head in wonder. “ARCs are so damn weird…”

“So are humans.” Taeyong pipes in.

“I guess,” Jaehyun trails off, expression still one of shellshock. So Taeyong changes topics.

“Bath time?”

“Yep. I'll draw up a bath.”

It takes maybe 5 minutes to fill the tub up, during which Jaehyun throws a pair of swimming trunks at Taeyong and tells him to change. Taeyong eyes the garment with distaste. “But aren’t you supposed to take a shower naked?”

Without meeting Taeyong’s gaze, Jaehyun clears his throat and says, “Do you want to be naked?”

Taeyong scrunches his nose. “You know I can probably figure this out, right?”

Jaehyun frowns and turns toward Taeyong. “Do you want to try, or would you rather a demonstration?”

Taeyong raises a challenging eyebrow. “A demonstration, or a helping hand?”

Jaehyun matches Taeyong’s expression. “...Which do you prefer?”

Taeyong shoots the bath with a scrutinizing look. “...A demonstration would make me look like a peeping tom, wouldn’t it?”

Jaehyun narrows his eyes like saying, _Do I really need to spell it out for you?_

“Can you just, uh, explain this to me?”

“Strip. Dip in the water. Use the body wash and loofah mitt and scrub your body but you don’t even have dead skin to scrub off so- ugh. This is too much talking for something so simple. Let’s go.” Jaehyun instructs, finally losing his patience.

Taeyong straightens. “Go what?”

Jaehyun turns tails and points his thumb to the tub of warm water. “Jump in. I’ll instruct you through the door.”

Taeyong’s eyes widen comically. “W-wait, so you won’t be with me?”

Jaehyun smirks, crossing his arms. “I thought you said you weren’t afraid.”

Taeyong sputters, “I’m not!”

“Do you want me in there with you?”

“No...okay fine I’ll go.”

Jaehyun leans against the wall and waits. Seconds later, he hears fabric fall on the bathroom floor tiles and calls over, “Ready?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Go in the bath.”

There are some water sounds, and Jaehyun assumes that Taeyong is in the water now. “Don’t fully submerge yourself yet. Just dip in and get used to the temperature first.” He guides. “Let me know when you’re feeling comfortable enough to continue.”

He hears some water sounds, then some wet pitter patter. What is that ARC doing in his shower?...

After a moment, Taeyong’s quiet voice calls through the door, “I’m ready now.”

Imagining himself in Taeyong’s shoes, Jaehyun continues his detailed instructions. “Keep your hands on either edge of the bathtub, slowly lean backwards so you can control how far you go. Again, do this at your own pace.”

“I’m really not scared of water, you know.” Comes the wry reply.

Jaehyun snorts and rolls his eyes. “If water gets into your ear and you frea-”

“!! aAh-”

Jaehyun snorts. “Yeah, I thought so.”

He gives his ARC a few seconds to compose himself. Three… Two… One…- “Jae, can you come in and help me? I don’t want to get my ears wet.” Comes the pitiful whine.

Having foreseen this, Jaehyun straightens and exhales. “Swimming trunks or no swimming trunks?”

“... don’t peek?”

 _Of course._ Jaehyun looks skywards and prays for a miracle.

“Coming in.” He calls, then pushes the partially closed door open and slips inside. The small bathroom has gotten steamy from the amount of hot water. The mirror and glass walls are foggy with condensation. Taeyong is peeking over the porcelain tub with a bright blush across his nose.

Jaehyun is surprised he doesn’t get a nosebleed.

He hides the rush of emotions with a cough and pushes his sleeves up. In his hand is a cup.

“You okay?” He asks softly.

Taeyong nods.

“Hm. Close your eyes.” Jaehyun says, on his knees against the cool porcelain.

Taeyong obliges obediently.

From Jaehyun’s angle, there’s nothing much to peek at, to be very honest. And he’s seen everything once before anyway, when he first encountered the ARC. But the blush makes Taeyong look so alive. His nose twitches to the humidity in the air, and droplets of water fall from strands of silver. Jaehyun looks down at his hands, and inhales deeply.

He dips the cup in the water and pours it over the ARC’s head a few times, getting the hair nice and wet, then lathers up some shampoo and gives Taeyong a gentle but thorough head scratch/massage. Taeyong decides he likes this treatment and leans back further, accidentally slipping too far. His arms fly out as he scrambles, and water spills over the edge and mostly on Jaehyun.

For a pause, Taeyong turns back slowly and sees Jaehyun staying deathly still, a plop of white shampoo sliding down his face. _Oh..._

“I-I’m sorry,” Taeyong turns bright red.

Jaehyun exhales deeply in a sigh, and narrows his eyes warningly at Taeyong. Taeyong meeps and slides back into the tub.

“It’s fine. It’s just water.” Jaehyun manages to grit out. He peels the wet shirt and shorts off, leaving him in a pair of grey Calvin Kleins, and he goes back to the edge of the tub. “C’mon, we’re almost done.”

Taeyong is in tears, but he doesn’t want to defy Jaehyun anymore, so he positions his back towards Jaehyun, and waits with bated breath.

Jaehyun finishes washing the silver hair and pours warm cups of water to rinse the suds out, careful to not get any inside Taeyong’s ears. Taeyong, for the most part, sits like a statue in the water until his controller announces that they’re done, and he jumps up to apologize, only to flash his private bits at Jaehyun’s face.

Water sprinkles everywhere. (You can use your imagination.)

Without warning, Jaehyun throws a towel at Taeyong’s face and tells him to dry himself off. Then he collects his wet clothes and slips out of the bathroom, wearing a furious scowl. Taeyong’s heart sinks.

As the door closes, Jaehyun leans against the wall again, banging his head and trying to imagine the least sexiest thing alive as a futile attempt to calm his hormones.

...Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With how hot summer's been, you'd appreciate something chill, right? Right.
> 
> Another update so soon? Because I love you guys so much ;) But also cos my life will be a mess for the next two weeks, so I sped through this one to give you something to, er, sip on ;) A BIG THANK YOU for the kudos, bookmarks, subscribes and reads! And to those of you who left comments, I fucking love you to the (full) sun and back <3 <3 <3 Take my hearts. Take them all.
> 
> PS: On a _completely different topic_ , um, uh. How do you feel about sexy things happening between a human and an non-human? Just, y'know, asking for a friend.  
> PPS: Bonus points for catching the cat2_sea reference! Also, does anyone here watch CreamHeroes? 8 )


	7. Chapter 7

Hi all :)

I'm not sure how many of you still have this story on your radar, but as you can tell from the title, it's under construction. It means I'm re-thinking it and re-working it until I'm happy with it. It doesn't mean that I've given up and that I've stop writing! It's my darling baby and I'm doing my best to keep going. I just need some time and space to figure some things out with the story, and with my personal life.

It's just a little stressful when I really want to come back and write this but don't have either the energy, motivation, mental capacity, patience, or all of the above. I'm trying to write well. I'm doing my best. This may be too personal, but there have been (and will still be) a lot of changes going on in my life that I need to deal with first before I come back to this. I'm trying to do it justice by not half-assing it.

But I appreciate everyone checking in and showing their love and support for this story! It's tough to wait. I've waited 7+ years on fics before they've finally, finally updated, so I know how it feels. All I can say is that that's my reason, thank you for your understanding and be assured that this isn't being given up on!!

Take care and tread softly,  
Kei


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